


We are the sparks that never fade, we are Starks.

by lunaemoth



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Agent Betty Carver is a TV series, Anxiety, Child Abuse, Cuddling & Snuggling, Darcy Lewis is Tony Stark's Daughter, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-12
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-03-07 07:32:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 55,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3166640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunaemoth/pseuds/lunaemoth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Obadiah Stane adopted Darcy Lewis after marrying her mother, he planned to raise her as the future remplacement of Tony Stark in R&D when he'll be head of Stark Industries. Why? Because genius is in Stark's blood. Really, it's too bad that Tony Stark has no idea the little girl who likes to watch him work is his own daughter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. My dad isn't the mean man

**Author's Note:**

> Title inspired by _Never Fade_ \- Gabrielle Aplin.
> 
> I want to thank _Belladonnaprice_ for proofreading this. She saved you from horrible grammar and she helped me a lot. She's the best beta ever! Thank you!
> 
> This first chapter is dedicated to _Usedkarma_ because it's her birthday and because last week was awful for us, French people. I hope this will help you to have a better day, darling. 
> 
> You can find me on tumblr: lunaemoth.tumblr.com 
> 
>  **NB:** Please mind the tags for child abuse on this chapter. It's nothing really graphic or sexual but it's here nonetheless.  
>  **NB2:** Two characters from the TV series _Suits_ have minor roles at the end of this chapter. You don't need to know the series to read it. I just needed two lawyers and they fit perfectly.

**December 1995 – Stark Industries Headquarters in Los Angeles, laboratories**

 

Darcy was smart, everyone told her so, but she also knew the value of discretion. She managed to sneak into the SI labs with just a bit of patience, thanks to a distracted technician who didn't bother to close the door behind him.

After that, it was really easy. Tony Stark’s private lab was obviously the biggest one, and his name was on the door. The little light on the lock was green. To open it, Darcy just had to push it slowly to avoid noise. She slipped inside and looked around wide-eyed, curious and excited, taking everything in. She couldn’t see Mr Stark, although she knew he was around: his assistant had said so to her step-father. She pouted. 

A noise came from under a big machine looking somewhat like a rocket. Her smile returned, and she stepped forward.

“Elise? Hand me the pincers.”

Darcy blinked. He was confusing her with his assistant. She heard him sigh, and he started to say “It looks like pli–”. Wishing to prove herself (she knew what tools looked like!), she quickly grabbed the pincers left on the workbench and kneeled to give it to him. Her small hand brushed his calloused fingers.

Startled, Mr Stark turned his head and barely restrained himself from standing and hitting his head on the booster. “What the– what are you doing here?”

Darcy tensed, fearing he’d be really mad at her. She gnawed on her bottom lip. “I wanted to see you work,” she admitted in a small voice.

“What? Wait… you’re Obadiah’s daughter, right? Darcy? Is that it?”

“Step-daughter,” she quickly corrected but nodded all the same.

“What are you doing here, kid? The labs are restricted access. There’s dangerous stuff here, it’s not for children.”

She wrinkled her noise. “I’m not stupid. I don’t touch stuff. I just slipped in…”

“You _just_ slipped in? What the fuck?”

She made herself as small as possible. Bad words meant bad things. “I just wanted to see you work,” she repeated, mouth wavering, truly upset at the idea he’d throw her out.

“What– Hey, no, kid, don’t cry!” He slid his mechanics dolly to get away from the rocket and be able to sit up. “Ok? Just, don’t cry…”

“I’m not crying,” she answered, sniffling a little to keep the tears at bay. She adjusted her glasses on her nose. “Can I stay, please? Just a bit? Pretty please? I’ll be really quiet and not bother you, and I can give you the tools you need! I know them all!”

“Jesus, kid… Isn’t Obi going to look for you? How old are you, anyway?”

“I’m seven! And he’s on a meeting for at least one hour! He said to stay in his office, but I already did all my homework and there’s nothing to do there, it’s boring…”

“Yeah, I know. I told him his office is the most boring place ever…” Tony answered with a compassionate nod. He stared at her sideways for a few seconds before sighing. “Alright, fine, you can stay if you’re quiet, but you have to go back before Obi's done. I’m not getting in trouble for you, kid.”

Darcy nodded fervently and beamed at him. Tony grumbled and went back to his work, ignoring her except to ask for a few tools here and there. Darcy lay down on the ground, her face between her hands as she watched, swinging her feet and smiling. Tony swore a lot and grumbled but not at her. It was okay. After twenty minutes, Tony paused and sighed, looking at her dubiously.

“Seriously, kid? I was sure you’d ask questions eons ago. What the hell is so interesting in watching me work for a little thing your age? You can’t tell me you understand anything I’m doing.”

“Well, I think you’re trying to lighten the rocket, even if I don’t really get how you’re going to do that without making it blow up with everything you stripped from it… Apart from that, no, I don’t know what you’re doing, but I like watching you work.”

There was a lot Tony wanted to say in answer to that but the first thing out of his mouth was: “It’s not a rocket.”

“What is it, then?”

He was going to describe his new weapon to the little girl when he thought better of it. “Whatever… it’s probably best you don’t know…” he grumbled. He went back to work. Silence settled in.

Darcy was a bit cold from lying on the floor in her tights and skirt, but it was worth it. She was looking at the clock frequently and sighed when it was finally time. “I have to go. Can I come back later, please?”

“Whatever kid, it’s your ass on the line if Obi learns about it,” he answered without looking at her. Good enough, Darcy decided. She walked away. “And don’t you ever dare to touch anything in the labs, or I’ll have your hide!” He shouted as she opened the door.

“Yes Mr Stark!” She shouted back before running away.

 

**July 1998 – SI Headquarters in LA, CEO’s office**

 

Darcy heard his familiar footsteps. He was alone. She crawled from under the assistant’s desk and rose her head above it. Mr Stark stopped right in front of her and shifted his sunglasses down his nose to stare at her. He walked away to the office door without acknowledging her, and she pouted, watching him swipe his badge and step in. He left the door open. She blinked, grinned and quickly sprinted to get in and close the door behind her.

Mr Stark was settling at his desk, turning on his computer. She ignored the couch in the corner, the TV and the games. It was much more entertaining than Obadiah’s office, but she went to sit on the ground near the bay windows where she would have a good view of Tony.

Darcy couldn’t visit a lot, because Obadiah didn’t allow her to accompany him to the office often and when he did it wasn’t usually for long. This was the tenth time she had gone to Tony and only the third time she had been in his office.

Mr Stark was talking on the phone now, and she watched avidly as he rolled his eyes and snorted. Tony was really expressive, not like Obadiah (Obadiah could be expressive, but it was never a good sign). She liked that.

When he had hung up, he glanced at her and gestured. “Come here.” She eagerly stood up and walked to him. He caught her by the waist and lifted her onto his lap. “Jesus, kid, you’re freezing,” he muttered when their skin touched. He rubbed her hands between his. She smiled, blissfully happy, as she looked down at her small hands in his big ones. She melted in his embrace and watched as he worked, staying as small as she could so as not to disturb him and get kicked out of his office.

Darcy had turned ten yesterday. Obadiah had given her a brand new computer, but _this_ was the best thing ever. She got a hug! Well… not a real one, but it’s okay. It still counted.

The door opened and Darcy tensed, afraid it was Obadiah and/or that she would have to go. The lady coming in was pretty, with red hair and a nice suit. Her mouth was open, but she froze when she saw Darcy. It took her a few seconds before she came forward. Tony hadn’t noticed, focused on his computer – there were boring numbers on the screen. Darcy was good at math, but numbers finishing by a $ sucked, Obadiah liked them too much.

The pretty lady cleared her throat. “Should I come back later Mr Stark?”

“Mh?” Tony finally looked up and realized what the problem was. “Oh. It’s Darcy, Obadiah’s daughter. Darcy, this is Pepper Potts, my assistant.”

Darcy blinked and waved. Every time she came here, Tony had a new assistant. She wondered how long this one would last.

Ms Potts seemed to relax and smiled at her softly. “Nice to meet you Darcy.”

Darcy smiled a little wider. She seemed nice. Darcy hoped she would last a little longer than the others. In the meantime, Tony had dropped his left hand around her waist. Darcy gripped it lightly, one hand around his thumb and the other on his wrist. She craved the skin on skin contact.

Ms Potts and Mr Stark were talking business. Boring, yet again. Then, Ms Potts asked him to sign a paper, but he ignored her in favor of his computer. Ms Potts pursed her lips, annoyed.

Darcy would like to pinch Mr Stark because that was a bit rude, really, but she didn’t want to get shooed away. So she took the pen left on the desk, grabbed Mr Stark’s right hand and carefully put the pen between his fingers. “He’s a bit lazy, I have to help him with his tools,” she explained very seriously to Ms Potts. That got her a grin from the lady while Mr Stark pinched her waist, making her squeal.

“You little minx,” he grumbled, but he kissed her hair and signed the paper anyway.

Darcy beamed, and Pepper smiled softly. “I might have found someone to back me up.”

“Don’t corrupt the kid Pepper,” Tony admonished. He smirked and tousled Darcy’s hair. She swung her feet in pleasure. Ms Potts left, but Tony didn’t go back to his work immediately. He asked: “Want to see something fun?”

Of course, she answered yes! She watched as he opened a drawer and took out what looked like… “A dragonfly?”

“Open your hand.”

She did, and he carefully dropped the little robot-toy in her palm. He poked it on the head and its wings started to beat. The dragonfly hovered a few inches above her skin and she gaped at it, entranced.

“It flies just like one!”

“Yeah, that’s the goal. It took me hours to get it right but it’s too expensive and too delicate to be of use for anything.”

“But it’s so pretty!”

Tony watched her as she moved her hands to guide it, fascinated and delighted.

“Do you want it?”

“Can I have it?! Really?!” She looked up at him, wide-eyed and eager.

“Yeah. I heard it was your birthday yesterday.”

“Yes! I’m ten now!”

“Well, you’re old enough to take good care of it, right?”

“Yes! Absolutely!”

“Then it’s yours.”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“One thanks is enough, kid. It’s just a stupid toy that flies a bit, that’s all.”

“No! It’s awesome! I bet it’s the first robot in the world that flies just like that!”

“Well, yeah.”

“Shouldn’t you have it pat–patented or something, and then keep it where no one can steal it?”

Mr Stark shrugged. “I did it on my spare time, no biggy, and I don’t like my things gathering dust. Have fun with it.”

“I will!”

“Ok, good. Now go play with it or something. You’re getting heavy, kid. How much cake did you eat yesterday?”

“A lot. It was chocolate.”

“Ah, chocolate. I can’t fault you there. With liquor, it’s even better.”

“Alcohol is icky!” she said vehemently.

“You’ll change your mind.”

Darcy pulled a face, doubtful she ever will. Alcohol made Stane even meaner. Alcohol was bad.

She went to play with her gift, giggling as it flew around and she had to find where it hid. She didn’t notice the fond look Tony gave her.

 

When Darcy went back to Obadiah’s office ten minutes later, the dragonfly was carefully hidden in her pocket. She sprinted past the assistant desk when the lady went to the bathroom and quickly slipped into the office. Unfortunately… she froze when she caught sight of Obadiah standing in front of the windows, hands in his pockets. For a second, she thought about quietly backing out of the room, but she knew it was only postponing the inevitable. She straightened up and locked her muscles, hands tightly clasped behind her back, waiting for her punishment.

“Do you want to explain to me why Tony Stark’s assistant told me I had a lovely daughter when I met her in the hallway ten minutes ago?” Stane asked without looking at her.

“I… met her when I went potty,” she babbled before wincing, knowing instantly it was the bad thing to say.

Indeed, Stane turned around and glared. “Come here.” She did so, reluctantly. He grabbed her by the arm and shook her. Her glasses nearly fell of her nose. “Do you take me for an idiot?” He snarled. “Why are you going to Tony? What do you think you’re doing?” She gritted her teeth and tried to stop her whine of pain. “Answer me, silly girl!”

“I wanted to learn about him!” She finally admitted when tears of pain framed her eyes. “I wanted to know my father!”

He let her go immediately to grip her by the shoulders, his fingers digging in her flesh. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I know he’s my father!”

“How?” He shook her again. “Did you tell him? Did you tell him?!” He shouted the second time, and she trembled in fear.

“I didn’t tell him! You said I was smart like my father, and once you said when you came back from work that my father was being an annoying brat again and that I better not become like him… I guessed!”

Stane released her and stepped back, scratching his beard. He sighed and crouched to be at her level. He seemed calmer, and she stopped herself from rubbing her arm and shoulders, knowing it would only annoy him again. “I suppose it was bound to happen; you’re so precocious… Fine, listen well, Darcy. Tony is indeed your father. He got your mother pregnant when he was seventeen, and he has no idea because _he doesn’t care._ He didn’t care about your mother, and he wouldn’t care about you. He doesn’t like kids, and he doesn’t want any. Don’t go bothering him again and stop thinking about him, he would only hurt you.” He took a strand of her hair to put it back behind her ear.

“He liked me just fine…” she muttered, eyes down but unable to refrain from protesting.

“Because he thinks you’re my daughter, that’s all. He can try to be nice for ten minutes, but more than that and he's bound to break your heart. He’s not father material, believe me.”

Overwhelmed by doubt, Darcy felt her throat tighten and the tears come back.

Obadiah sighed and lifted her into his arms. His embrace was too tight, but he was big and warm. It was a hug, and it was the best she would get. She put her arms around his neck and buried her face in his jacket, knowing she couldn’t cry on his suit or he would be pissed – again.

“I was going to wait a little, but maybe it would be best to send you to that boarding school we talked about in September.”

She raised her head, dismayed. “But…”

“You’re a big girl now, Darcy. You have to start to think more about your studies than about a father who doesn’t want you.” Her face crumbled, and she looked away. “Let’s make a deal. If you go without a fuss and do well at school, I’ll make sure you can see Tony at your birthdays from now on, okay?”

“Promise?”

“As long as you behave and doesn’t try to tell him about our secret… it’s a promise.”

“… Okay.”

“Good girl.”

 

**July 2004 – Stark’s Mansion, Malibu**

 

Darcy stepped out of the car, wide-eyed. They had passed by a helipad and tennis grounds, now there was this awesome entrance, and yet Obadiah told her she hadn’t seen anything. She walked after him, eager to see more. The interior was modern and bright. It was… grand.

“Hey, dumpling!”

Darcy turned and beamed at the sight of Tony coming down the stairs. She ran to him and hugged his waist, her ear against his chest while Obadiah glowered in the background.

Tony patted her awkwardly on the back. “Good morning to you too. I get it you approve?”

“It’s _awesome_! Are you sure I can have my birthday party here? Really?”

“Sure, knock yourself out. It’s not every day a girl celebrates her sixteenth birthday, am I right?”

“Thank you! You’re the best!”

Tony snorted, but he had a lopsided smile on indicating he was damn proud of himself. “Come on, you didn’t even see the pool yet!” With an arm around her shoulders, he led her outside and then let her run everywhere, marveling about the scenery, the deckchairs and the palm trees.

Obadiah settled beside Tony, hands in his pockets, watching his step-daughter, stone-faced. “It’s the only thing she could talk about for days.”

“What about MIT?”

Obadiah pursed his lips and shook his head. “She’s being an ungrateful brat about it… kids…” He sighed and shrugged. “She gets in and she has a party, that’s the deal. Thank you for indulging her Tony, I appreciate it.” Obadiah put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it briefly before turning back. “If she annoys you, shout a bit at her and she’ll behave, she likes you.”

Tony frowned as his mentor left but smiled when Darcy ran to him. “I’ve got work to do. You’ll be fine on your own, right?”

Darcy’s smile dimmed a bit, but she nodded. “Sure. I won’t break anything.”

Tony smirked. “You better not, I have eyes on you. Jarvis, say hi.”

“Good morning Miss Lewis, welcome to the Stark’s Mansion.”

Darcy blinked and looked up and around to find the man talking. Tony, arms crossed, smiled proudly and even laughed when she checked behind him.

“Jarvis is an AI. He watches the goings-on of the house and manages its systems. He knows everything. You just have to ask him for something if you need it. He can even order pizza for you.”

“Like home automation?”

Tony snorted. “Better! But you’ll see.” He patted her shoulder and turned around. “Play nice, children!”

 

At three in the morning, Tony came back from his own party in town to find most of Darcy’s guests gone – good – except for the selected few she had begged him to allow to sleep here. He went around making sure everyone was fine and not going to die in their puke. He was supposed to be the responsible adult here after all.

It was warm enough outside that they slept on the deckchairs, even if most of them were in swimsuits. Tony engaged the pool’s covering to make sure no one would fall in by accident. The engine’s noise woke up Darcy. He snorted as she fell from her chair and her head appeared above it to glance at him. She stood up shakily and stumbled to him.

“Hey, kid. Great party?”

“Awesome,” she mumbled, before face-planting on his shoulder and tightening her arms around his waist. “You?”

“It was alright.” He stroked her hair. “Happy birthday, dumpling… and congratulations for getting in MIT early.”

She hummed and mumbled against his shoulder: “I don’t care about MIT.”

“No?”

“No. Stane wanted me to, to be just like you, but I don’t really care much about engineering.”

Tony swallowed a bitter taste. “Then, what do you care about?”

“Computers are ok… more or less. Stane said I could try a graduate degree on it…”

“Yeah? That’s good. MIT is really good for computers sciences.”

“Mmh…” She nuzzled his shoulder, and he patted her on the back. “Oh! By the way, Jarvis is totally the best thing ever! He’s my little brother!”

“What?”

“Yeah! He said he’s like barely six years old or something. I’m totally the eldest!”

“Okaaay. Whatever you say, kiddo. I think you need to go back to sleep, huh?” He helped her to lie down and watched her as she fell asleep. He finally shook his head and walked away. He had better things to worry about, like that new upgrade for Jarvis. Home automation, pfff.

In the morning, when Darcy woke up, Tony was already gone for work. She didn’t see him for several years after that.

 

**January 2009 – Pearson Hardman Headquarters in New York City**

 

Darcy played with her silk scarf nervously, watching the scenery from the windows of the 46th floor without really seeing the buildings of Manhattan. She was uncomfortable in her burgundy suit and stilettoes, even if they had given her a modicum of courage when she had put them on that morning.

They had been waiting in the conference room for ten minutes now. Louis Litt, her lawyer, sighed and told her: “It’s one of Specter’s ridiculous habits, making the opposing party wait to unsettle them. It’s low-class, don’t think much about it.”

Darcy managed a small lopsided smile. “Mr Stark has never been the punctual type anyway.”

“They probably deserve each other,” Louis grumbled. He was fully back in the chair with his arms on the armrests, swiveling his chair with an annoyed expression. “I don’t suppose you’ve changed your mind, have you?”

“No.”

“I thought so. It’s against my better judgement, and you agree to say so in front of Ms Pearson, if she ever asks, right?”

“I promise, Louis.” Darcy turned to look at him. “I wanted to say… You’ve been really helpful with everything since Stane’s death, and I’m grateful for it. Thank you.”

Louis nodded, a bit uneasy but sitting a bit straighter. “Well, it’s my job Ms Lewis, and I pride myself in doing it well.”

Darcy smiled, but any answer she could have given was interrupted but the arrival of Tony Stark, Pepper Potts and Harvey Specter, finally. Specter closed the door behind them as Pepper took a seat, nodding at them and offering Darcy a small smile. Stark slumped in his seat, ignored Louis and stared at Darcy from behind his red sunglasses.

“Miss Lewis,” Specter said, offering his hand.

Darcy moved forward to shake his hand before settling on Louis’ left side, and opposite Tony. Small talk ended quickly, and Louis started the real discussion:

“We’re here to settle the inheritance of Mr Obadiah Stane. As Mr Stane didn’t have a will, which was against my advice…”

“Don’t be upset Litt, that’s what happens when people have the ego of a madman and can’t envision their own death.” Tony interjected.

“Yes, thank you Mr Stark. As I was saying, since there’s no will, all his possessions are passed down to his heir, his adopted daughter, Miss Lewis.”

“Which we object to,” Specter stated, “considering Mr Stane’s acts of treason towards Mr Stark and his company…”

“And that’s why we’re here, for a settlement,” Darcy stepped in, clasping her hands to keep from fidgeting.

“… and the doubts remaining on Miss Lewis’ innocence on those matters.”

“Excuse me?!” Darcy gaped.

“That’s a farfetched accusation,” Litt noted, putting a hand on Darcy’s to stop her from saying anything more. Darcy slumped in her seat, pale and upset.  “We’re here for mediating. Do we have to get Jessica here Harvey? Because _you_ told her we didn’t need a third party.”

“I’m just making an observation: when we contacted you for the first time, you were aware of Stane’s doings. It hasn’t been made public,” Harvey Specter remarked.

“I know what Stane did because I went through his computer _afterwards_. I have nothing to do with…” Darcy searched for words.

“… dumping me in terrorists’ hands? Stabbing me in the back? Double-dealing behind my back?” Stark offered.

Darcy gritted her teeth as Louis turned to her. She had told Litt the basics to get his cooperation, but she hadn’t even taken the time to realize _she_ wasn’t supposed to know. She was a mess since she had learned about her step-father’s death: too much had changed and she had trouble finding her footing. She sighed and rubbed her eyes.

“… any of that. I was in the dark about your disappearance just as much as anyone else Tony, and I’m damn glad you came back alive!” She leaned forward, making eye-contact. “Why do you think we didn’t see each other for years? I ran from Stane as soon as I could – that’s all the good MIT did me – and I broke off as many ties as I could with him.”

“You still despise MIT?”

“I hate MIT. I’m at Culver now.”

“Yeah?”

“I changed as soon as I learned he was dead.”

“Classy.”

“Is that what you want to talk about? Sunglasses inside aren’t fashionable anymore, in fact, it never was. It just makes you look like a douchebag, a blind one at that because that color doesn’t suit you.”

Tony took off the sunglasses in one wide gesture – he had dark rings under his eyes – and leaned on the table. “Did you know about any of it?”

She weighed her words. “I knew that he thought you were only useful as long as he could manipulate you. I didn’t know he considered you were past that use.”

“You were supposed to be my replacement in research and development, right?”

“Yes.”

“Since when?”

“Since forever! Since he adopted me!” Darcy exclaimed, waving her hands. “It has always been his end goal!”

He raised his voice. “Why didn’t you _tell_ me?”

“Seriously? I was sixteen the last time we met Tony! I was sixteen, under his legal responsibility, and mostly _terrified_ of him, alright? You weren’t the one living with him!” She didn’t realize she was shouting at the end. The silence afterwards was deafening. She looked away, gritting her teeth to stop the tears. “It’s always about the company, the company and yet again the fucking company,” she muttered once she could swallow. “If I had thought he’d try to get you killed, I’d have said something. But the company? I don’t fucking care about it, alright? So, you want his shares of SI, right? That’s what this is all about. Then take them! I don’t fucking care!” Her shout quavered at the end and she quickly hid her face with her hands, breathing in deeply to calm herself. “Louis, please,” she finally murmured.

Litt held papers out to his counterpart. “This is Miss Lewis’ offer. She’s going against my advice on the matter so I highly suggest you take it and leave it at that because there’s clearly no way I would let it go for anything lower.”

There were a few moments of silence only disturbed by turned pages as Specter read the offer and Darcy calmed down. She missed the way Specter looked up at Litt and raised an inquisitive eyebrow as well as the stiff nod he got in answer. Tony and Pepper didn’t.

“Well?” Pepper asked.

“Miss Lewis is offering to yield 88% of Stark Industries shares, the totality of subsidiaries’ shares and any holdings bound to Stark Industries in any way…”

“What’s the catch?” Tony immediately asked.

Specter glanced at Litt, hiding his disbelief behind a stone-faced mask, before looking back at his client.  “… There’s none.”

Darcy put her hands down on her forearms. “I just want this to end as quickly as possible and continue with my life without him breathing down my neck. You want this. I don’t. Go on and take it.”

Tony glanced at Pepper, who nodded, and at Harvey who spread his hands in a way indicating this was his choice. Litt was staring at him intently, like he could convince him to sign by a simple look. Tony ignored him and stared at Darcy. “You’re supposed to make this harder.”

“I did what I was supposed to do for more than ten years. I got bored with it.”

Tony pointed at her with his sunglasses, and Pepper sighed at his rudeness. “Your business sense is awful.”

Darcy rolled her eyes. “I believe I’m not the only one. Remind me how many points SI stocks fell after your anti-military speech?”

“Don’t answer that,” Tony quickly stopped Pepper, pointing at her when she opened her mouth.

“Tony… just do us all a favor and sign that paper.” Darcy asked.

He stared at her for a few seconds before nodding. “Alright.”

Darcy sighed in relief as he took the pen Harvey gave him and signed. She stood up and turned to her lawyer. “Thank you. Louis, I can let you handle the rest, right?”

Litt straightened up and adjusted his lapel. “Of course, Miss Lewis.”

“Then I’ll leave you. I have to take a plane back to Culver. I have an exam tomorrow morning.” She shook the lawyers’ and Pepper’s hands, but Tony was already up.

“Pep’, see you in the car. Later, Harvey!” He grabbed Darcy by the hand and led her through the hallways to the elevator. Darcy was too focused on not tripping with her stupid heels to do more than tell him to slow down. Only once they were inside the elevator he said: “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, the S-word from Tony Stark, this is serious. Ok. About what?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. You, tell me. What was it? Physical abuse? Psychological? Both?”

She squeezed her bag against her chest and looked at the floors number. “Does it matter?”

Tony sighed and brushed his fingers through his hair. He was fidgeting, clearly uncomfortable with the subject. “Listen. I… Why did you come to me when you were a kid, really?”

Darcy considered telling him, there and then. She wasn't going to have a better chance. After this, they would go back to their lives and, with no Obadiah Stane in it, there wouldn’t be any reason for them to see each other again. As she opened her mouth, his phone rang, and he looked at it with a “sorry” before taking the call from his friend Rhodes. The opportunity slipped away. She sighed as they reached the ground floor. She tried to step out with a “It was nice seeing you Tony”, but he gently grabbed her by the elbow and closed the door by smashing the button until the elevator went down to the parking level he had selected.

“Yeah, it went okay Rhodey. I’ve got to go, I’ll call you back later,” he was saying in his phone before hanging up. He turned back to her as if nothing happened. “So, Culver? What are you studying there?”

“Political science. Don’t make that face. You can call it my belated adolescent crisis if you want.”

“Yeah, okay, let’s do that,” Tony agreed. “I think you’re owed one, you know, for the your-father-sucked thing.” They walked out of the elevator, and Tony led her by the elbow to his car, parked right in front. Happy Hogan came out to open the back door. They had met briefly a few times before. “We’re taking her to the airport,” Tony said.

Darcy barely greeted Happy before adding: “We’re waiting for Ms Potts.”

“Oh, yeah, it would be rude otherwise, right?”

She rolled her eyes but sat inside. “Yes, it would be.”

“Ok then, if we have to wait, I want coffee. Happy, can you bring back coffee?” He gave him a twenty dollars bill.

“Sure thing, boss. Miss?”

“Tea please, or hot chocolate. No coffee for me.” Coffee made her fidgety. She didn’t really need that right now.

“Got it.” Happy left them.

“You said you went through Obadiah’s computer,” Tony suddenly stated. “I was wondering if…”

Darcy restrained herself from rolling her eyes and opened her shoulder bag to get out a laptop from it. She offered it to Tony. “His personal laptop. It’s yours.”

“Oh.”

“Of course, I already copied anything I deemed interesting.” And deleted anything too personal…

“Of course.” He grabbed it and glanced at her. “And what did you deem interesting?”

“Nothing you have a patent on, don’t worry.” She shrugged and looked around the car, trying to muster the courage to ask: “That… armor thing he built.”

“Iron Monger.”

“Yeah, that. Did you fight it? With Iron Man?”

“Yes, I did.”

She nodded, looked back at him and the glow she could see through his shirt. “I’m glad you’re fine. That you came back from Afghanistan and everything…”

“Yeah? Didn’t fancy taking my place in R&D?”

“No. I don’t.”

“Ok…” He stared at her. “But, when your… _adolescent crisis_ ends and you’re looking for a real job, give me a call.”

“You don’t even know what I’m capable of.”

“I don’t hang out with stupid kids.”

“Oh, is that it? I know the difference between pliers and pincers so that’s fine?”

“Basically, yes.”

She snorted and let her head fall against the headrest. “Say… do you want kids?”

“No.” The answer was immediate and without hesitation.

She nodded and played with her silk scarf. Maybe Stane had a point: that way only led to a broken heart… She put a smile on, pushed back any wishes or maudlin feelings and asked him about Iron Man. He jumped on the subject.

She would be fine.


	2. My dad doesn't define me

**2011 – New Mexico**

 

It was seven in the evening, and Darcy was finally reaching town after a long trip for groceries. The store in Puente Antiguo still hadn’t re-opened after the Destroyer debacle and, considering Jane’s epic level of moping, they definitely needed all the Pop-tarts and coffee they could get.

Darcy didn’t mind much. A few hours of solitude were quite nice once in a while. The van’s radio was blasting her favorite music, no one was annoying her: life was good. A bit more complex thanks to the existence of Norse divinities, but nothing she couldn’t deal with. Her father was Iron Man and he didn’t even know it after all! As long as it wasn’t about daddy issues, Darcy could deal.

“This time, baby, I’ll be buuulletproof!” She sang with La Roux.

A noise and the wheel jerking to the side nearly sent her into the ditch. She tightened her grip on the wheel and slowed to a stop by the roadside. “What now?!” She sighed and looked in her rear-view mirror before getting out. She quickly found the problem: one of the tires was flat. She groaned and looked at the sky, hands on her hips. “Duuude.”

Fortunately, she had a spare tire. She took off her pullover and went to work. The road wasn’t much frequented but, a few minutes later, she was distracted by a black car pulling over in front of the van. A gorgeous man, sandy-haired and muscly, probably in his late thirties, exited and walked toward her.

“Hi. Need help?”

She blinked at him. “I know how to change a tire,” she retorted flatly before thinking better of it and standing up, beaming. “But I’m a really lazy girl so by all means…” She gestured at the jack. He burst out laughing. That won him a few more points.

“I’m Clint,” he said before crouching at her feet.

“Darcy.”

Clint knew how to change a tire, no false pretense here, and he was probably faster than her. He had taken off his jacket and his shirt showed off his biceps. Darcy enjoyed the show; she had a really great view.

“Do you know of a motel around?” He asked.

“Sure… but it’s closed.” He looked at her with consternation. She shrugged. “You picked a hell of a time to travel here. The town was… uh… what was it again?” she muttered trying to remember SHIELD’s cover story. “Yeah… A thunderstorm, a big one, with… a lot of thunder,” she babbled. “Anyway, no motel and no store open yet…”

“Great.” He sighed and stood up, giving her the jack back. “I guess I should find another town then…”

“Dude, the next motel is at nearly an hour from here.” She bounced on her toes and hesitated. “I guess you can crash with me… You know, to thank you for doing all the work...”

“A free place to sleep? I’m in.”

“That’s the spirit! Now, just to say, I have a taser and no problem using it.”

“… Fair enough…”

“Great! Come on cowboy, follow me!”

 

Darcy wasn’t going to badmouth Jane for at least two weeks after this. When Darcy had brought her dinner and coffee into the lab that evening, she had tried to discreetly ask if Jane was going to come back to the trailer or sleep here as she sometimes did. Jane had looked up (first miracle!), took a glance at her and said “don’t let your beau touch anything of mine”, then she had looked back at her screen and concluded “I’ll stay here”. Darcy raised her hands to the ceiling – no shame – and mentally thanked Thor for softening Jane’s heart. That would have never gone so easily a few weeks prior. She even ignored the ‘beau’ thing.

Her ‘beau’ had other plans anyway, as it turned out.

After dinner, they were lying across Darcy’s bed to watcha singing competition on TV. They were talking music tastes and Darcy thought it was the best moment to make a move: Clint had been the perfect gentleman until then (maybe she scared him with the taser comment ?) but she was a modern woman; nothing to stop her from initiating!

“Good tastes should be rewarded!” She rolled closer to him and tried to kiss his cheek but he raised an Oreo cookie and pressed it between her lips.   

“Your enthusiasm for Arctic Monkeys is duly noted,” he said mischievously. “Sorry, I should have make it clearer: I like men.”

“Oh!” Darcy blushed like a tomato and backed off. “Oh my God, sorry! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable!” She grabbed the Oreo and munched on it to have a good excuse for shutting up. She looked at the screen intently, trying to will herself to calm down, but she couldn’t remember ever having been this embarrassed since a while… embarrassed and disappointed because she had really been hoping for some physical comfort.

After a tense moment, Clint nudged her with his shoulder. “Hey, don’t make it awkward. I’m okay if you are.”

She glanced at him sideways and relaxed when he smiled at her. She nudged him back. “Thanks. I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t mention it. So, what’s this song the girl’s butchering?”

Darcy smiled lopsided and shook her head. “Your pop culture sucks so much.”

“I’ll have you know that I’m a busy man. It’s hard work keeping up with you kids.”

She stuck her tongue out at him.

When, a few hours later, she was sprawled on the mattress and her eyes were sliding shut of their own volition, he rubbed her scalp softly. She hummed and shifted to give him a better angle. She was disappointed when he stood up: she had relaxed for the first time in days.

“I’m gonna take the couch. Go to sleep,” he said, taking the blanket she had found for him.

“Ok, night,” she murmured, rolling under her cover.

 

Darcy woke up slowly and burrowed a little deeper in her sheets. She was going to fall back asleep when a small noise attracted her attention. She opened her eyes and caught sight of the lightened screen of her laptop. Clint was sitting in front of it on the ground. She could see his profile as he skimmed her files.

Her throat tightened. She slowly reached for the taser she had left in her bag next to the bed. As her fingers grazed it, a hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her off the bed. She struggled, lashing out, kicking and scratching (or trying to anyway). He easily overpowered her, and she found herself immobilized on the ground, Clint at her back holding her in a lock there was no way she could wiggle out of without breaking something.

“Calm down, I don’t want to hurt you,” he said.

“No, you only want to spy on me,” she hissed. “You’re SHIELD right? Jesus, I should have guessed. A bunch of hypocrites, helping Jane and stabbing her in the back…”

“This isn’t about Doctor Foster.”

Breathing heavily, she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes then to her laptop pushed away during the struggle. She recognized the file open, a digital copy of her civil status certificate, and let her head thud against the floor. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Really? Even dead, Stane fucks with my life. What the hell do you want?”

“Right now? That you don’t try to struggle or reach for that taser when I release you. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if you don’t give me a choice.”

“Yeah. I guessed that, GI Joe. I’ll be a good girl,” she sassed, rolling her eyes.

He let her go, and she quickly got away from him, rubbing her wrist and sitting back against the wall. She adjusted her pajamas and grabbed her glasses. Clint was sitting right next to her bag, obviously not trusting her. He was in his underwear and unmoved by it.

“With your relationship to Stane, you’re considered a security risk. I’m here to assess that risk.”

“By… manipulating me to get me interested before pointedly not _sleeping_ with me?”

“It was the quickest way to get close enough.”

Darcy glared at him, pressed her knees against her chest, her elbows on them, hiding behind her hands, eyes closed. She was mortified. She couldn’t believe she had fallen for that. Oh, of course, since she was a ‘risk’ they probably did a psychological profile of her or something, and considering which agent they sent, she bet there was a “prefers older men” in it somewhere. God, she was really stupid. Perfect fuckbuddies didn’t fall from the sky (unless you were named Jane Foster)… even gay friends with perfect head rub skills didn’t come from nowhere!

“Hey,” Clint called. She opened her eyes after a few deep breathes. He was looking at her intently. “I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, it’s not how I’d’ve liked to have met you.”

Darcy tried to steel herself. “What do you want?”

“Answers.”

“Yeah?” A wave of anger suddenly crashed through her, further upsetting her already jangled nerves. “Well, I’d like some peace, but we can’t have everything we want apparently,” she lashed out.

He stared at her silently for a few seconds before shrugging. “Ok, then I’ll take that computer.” He reached for it. She surged forward. They toppled back, rolled around and once again she found herself back on the ground, Clint straddling her and holding her hands over her head. “Hey now, you said you’d be a good girl.”

“Fuck you,” she hissed. “That’s my laptop, you’re not taking it anywhere! I barely got my iPod back!”

“Yeah? It didn’t escape our notice that your laptop was nowhere to be found when we seized the rest. Do you have something to hide Lewis?”

“Yes! My private life! I know the concept might be hard to grasp for jack-booted thugs.” She pulled on his hold, just to show her ire, but he leaned forward, adjusted his weight, and she felt the mood shift. Damn him and his handsomeness. She swallowed and glared to regain her composure.

“Darcy. I’ve got to do a report on you and, for now, my assessment is pretty good, but your unwillingness to cooperate won’t do you any favors.”

“I owe you nothing. I’m not my step-father, I have nothing to do with his tricks or schemes, and if you were any kind of intelligence agency you’d know that already.” He leaned forward a little more, and his nose brushed her jaw. She turned her head, cheek to the floor. “Don’t do that. I’m pissed at you and emotional manipulation won’t help your cause.”

“I know. I know you’re pissed, and I can assure you I’m not overly fond of the situation either. I much prefer shooting things to the spy stuff, but you really need to cooperate Darcy.” His thumbs rubbed her wrists softly and she sighed, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth. As his ministrations made her relax, she thought it through. She knew he was right. She could struggle and whine all she wanted about the unfairness of her situation, but SHIELD had the upper-hand.

“Jane would hate you guys even more if she ever learned of this.”

“Maybe. Did you tell her about Stane?”

Darcy looked at the ceiling. No, she hadn’t. She was pretty sure Jane wouldn’t care about her past, but if SHIELD agents told her Darcy was a corporate spy or some other invented tale… Darcy might just lose her best friend.

“Fine,” she grunted. “You want answers? I’ll answer… but not to you.” Clint straightened up and raised an eyebrow. She lifted her chin, defiant. “I want to speak to Coulson.” Clint tilted his head. She glanced at the clock. It was 3am. “He’s your boss right? Do you think he’s awake?”

Clint shook his head with a lopsided smile. He pinched her sides, making her jerk. “Let’s find out.” He withdrew and, without turning his back to her, walked to his clothes to take his phone from a pocket.

Darcy sat on the bed as he dialed. It took a few rings.

“He’s sleeping,” Clint confirmed, eyes sparkling. Maybe he really didn’t appreciate his mission or maybe he didn’t like the robot Son of Coul. “Sir,” he finally said in the mic. “I’ve been made and she refuses to let me take her computer. She wants to talk to you.” He offered her the phone.

“Son of Coul,” she greeted him sardonically.

“Miss Lewis… Or should I say Miss Stane?”

“Call me that and I’ll taser you in the balls.”

Clint’s snort almost obscured Agent Coulson’s dry reply of “Duly noted.”

“Listen, I’m pissed and I’m itching to sic Jane on you, but Muscly here is persuasive so I’ll answer three questions for you and you leave me alone from then on.”

“This isn’t a genie trick, Miss Lewis. Interrogations are over when the threat is assessed.”

“Ok, five.”

“Twelve, no less.”

“Oh by Thor, fuck you Coulson, it’s 3am!”

“I’m aware.”

“Twelve and you leave me _alone_.”

“Put the phone on speaker.”

“Done.” She dropped the phone on the bed next to her.

“I’ll ask the questions, look at the agent as you answer them.”

Darcy sighed and stared at Clint. He had put on his pants, his arms were crossed in front of him and he was leaning against the wall right in front of her, calm and stone-faced.

“How did your mother die?”

Darcy startled and blanched. Her fingers shook and she gripped her sheets to hide it. “That’s low Coulson,” she managed to say in a strained voice.

“You don’t leave me the occasion to pull my punches with only twelve questions, Miss Lewis. This is your choice.”

She gritted her teeth, bit her bottom lip and swallowed heavily to contain her feelings. She couldn’t look up to Clint. “She killed herself.”

“The official report states that she died in a car accident in 1999.”

“Official reports always said what Stane wanted them to say. She had tried to kill herself two times before that… he covered it up.” She was playing with the cover’s threads to calm herself. At this stage, the words were bubbling forward. She had never talked about it with anyone, and she suddenly felt like she needed to. “She was depressed. She popped pills like candy. Stane made her sick. I could hear her cry…” Her throat tightened. Trying to control herself, she chose to focus on something simple but nonetheless important: “That was your first question…”

“How did you learn of Obadiah Stane’s death?”

She blinked, thrown by the non-sequitur. “Second,” she said automatically, holding on to her trick. “I… uh… I was in class when the maid called and told me there were men in suits in the house. They told her he wouldn’t need her services anymore and from what she had heard about explosions in town, she took it to mean he was dead."

“You trusted her judgement.”

“Look, she may have been autistic, but she was far more aware of what was going on than Stane or the suits thought. Yes, I believed her.” She looked up when Clint made a noise. He gestured for her to stare him in the eyes. She sighed. “I hacked a few things for confirmation.”

“As you said, SHIELD went through the house. Yet, you gave Stane’s personal laptop to Mr. Stark a few months later. How did it happen to be in your possession?”

“Third. As I said, Anna may not process things the same way as you or me, but she hated Stane. The idea of some goons rummaging through private property didn’t sit well with her either.”

“She hid it for you.”

“She made my childhood tolerable and if you bother her for a stupid laptop I’ll _end_ you Coulson.” She stared at Clint eye to eye.

“Noted, however, I still can’t help but wonder what you’re trying to hide Miss Lewis.”

“Well, I don’t know Coulson, you tell me: do I have something left to hide after you went through my home, my room, my iPod and, in the case of Muscles, my computer? I should probably add to that all my social media accounts and anything I do on the internet really, stalking much?”

“Your Pinterest account is truly fascinating.”

“Fuck you Coulson, kittens and puppies are the best things on Earth.”

“I was rather referring to your actors’ preferences.”

“Well, then double fuck you. Hugh Jackman is hot and Bruce Willis kicks ass like none other.”

“I’m not judging you, Miss Lewis. However your posts about Iron Man lead me to ask: what is your relationship with Tony Stark?”

“Four… and, considering I haven’t seen him in two years? Currently, not much of one.”

“Well, you certainly kept him company enough in the past to have picked up his style of sass.”

Darcy tensed slightly and bit her lips. She looked down and immediately sighed because she had clearly given herself away to Clint. When she glanced at him, he had an eyebrow raised, confirming her screw-up. “Fine, I… I admired him. Stane couldn’t shut up about him, talking about what a brilliant mind he had but also how annoying he was. He always said I was like Tony but at least I had some manners, thanks to Stane, supposedly… So, I went to Stark and decided to learn from him as much as I could… sass included.”

“And today, what are your feelings for him?”

“He… he’s the most brilliant man I’ve ever met and he’s foolishly brave for what he does with Iron Man. I admire and respect him. And, that’s number five.”

“Nothing more?”

“If you’re asking me if I have a crush on him, the answer is _no_ Coulson. And using questions 4 to 6 on Stark is a bit excessive, don’t you think?”

“Everything is excessive when Mr Stark is concerned. Very well. Stane wanted you to work in R&D, yet you immediately substituted your science courses for politics upon his death. Would you say you’re interested in weapons development?”

“No,” she immediately answered, looking at Clint in the eye.

“In hacking activities?”

She sighed. “Only for very specifics occasions. That was eight.”

“Mr Donald Blake’s ID wasn’t bad. The identity lacked creativity however.”

“I’m not going to sell fake IDs for a living if that’s what you’re worried about Coulson. I have a perfectly good inheritance as it is,” she answered, carefully omitting Jane and Erik’s involvement.

“An inheritance you got from a man you claim to despise. Tell me about your feelings for Stane.”

She rubbed her brows and frowned. “Well, where to start? He’s a piece of shit and I’m really glad he died. How about that? If you want to talk about the money, I can tell you I had a lot of fun signing big checks to charity foundations he despised. Seriously, I cackled when I wrote that check for the WWF and let’s not talk about Greenpeace, _that_ was worth a belly dance.” She grinned. It had been such a great day.

“And when you were a child?”

Her smile disappeared. “I thought… that he was scary and violent.” She fidgeted and played with the covers. “He was unpredictable. Sometimes he smiled and praised me just before he slapped me and reproached me for one thing or another. And then he would do something nice, buy me whatever I wanted and compliment me. I wanted to do everything I could to get those nice moments… so, I tried…”

“You were in thrall to him.”

“…I guess that’s one way to put it.”

“But you grew up.”

“Yes. He sent me to boarding school. When I came back for the holidays, I put things in perspective and realized… that nothing I did would ever please him enough. I could bend in half, but he would always ask for more.”

“What did you feel from them on?”

“I hated him; I left. I found every excuse to stay as far away as possible and planned trips and activities for the holidays.

“What do you think of his ideals?”

“Wait, wait, you’re sneaky Coulson.” She tried to remember but, between his leading statements and the questions troubling her, she had lost count. Was it ten, eleven, or already twelve? A movement from Clint made her look to his fingers tucked against his elbow. She could only see his thumb tapping repeatedly his arm. She blinked and looked up. He was stone-faced, but he didn’t stop. “Eleven,” she concluded, a bit suspicious but willing to believe it. “Stane was a heartless, egocentric megalomaniac. He had no ideals, no visions, just his love for money and self. You’ve got one more. Better make it a good one.”

“Did you meet or hear about any of his associates who could still be a threat today?”

“Seriously? I answered that question right after he died. You have that interview, right?”

“Indulge me.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I gave the only person I could think of to your colleagues and I heard he’s had an unfortunate accident since. I don’t know about anyone else.”

“Clint?”

“She’s behaving like a nine year old, but she’s telling the truth.”

Darcy stuck her tongue out at Clint and raised her chin when he smirked.

“I see you have not registered for a doctorate program, Miss Lewis.”

“I see you and your mastery of leading statements, Coulson. Anyway, I’m a jack-of-all-trades. I like to learn about a lot of things. Burying myself in details is not my style, the big picture is much more enlightening.”

“That would explain the texts on economy, history, sociology, psychology, medicine, biology, chemistry and astrophysics I found…” Clint noted.

“You touched my e-books? Have you no limits?” She grabbed her pillow and threw it at him. He caught it without batting an eyelash and raised a smug eyebrow. Bastard.

“Do me a favor Miss Lewis, and if a madman ever offers you a job, call me first for a counter-offer,” Coulson intervened.

Darcy raised an eyebrow at the phone. “Does Stark count as a madman?”

“Definitely.”

She laughed at his deadpan answer, relaxing slowly now that the worst seemed passed.

“Good night, Miss Lewis.”

“Nighty-night, Son-of-Coul.”

With that exchange, Clint took back his phone and signed off with his handler. She was expecting him to leave, but he didn’t seem in a hurry. He was staring at her, hands in his pockets – and damn him he looked good shirtless.

“Do you want me to go?” Before she could sass him as deserved, he took two steps forward and added: “Or, since I’m not working anymore, do you want me to make it up to you?”

Darcy shivered as he rubbed her ankles. She hadn’t shaved, but it didn’t seem to disturb him one bit (she appreciated that, it’s not like she had planned this, _he_ had and now that she thought about it he was probably the reason for the flat tire, she totally should get SHIELD to repay that). “Making time with your target, Agent? Is that by the book?”

“Probably not.”

“Are you even gay?” she blurted out.

He tilted his head. “I’m bi.” Before she could protest, he noted: “I said I like men, not that I don’t like women.”

Of course, half-truths are a spy’s greatest weapon. “What’s the point? Why didn’t you sleep with me from the get-go, to make your job even easier?”

“That didn’t sit right with me… or with Coulson. How I handled the situation was my decision but, trust me, his “I’m disappointed in you” stare is no joke.”

“What are you talking about?” she interrupted him. “You’re a spy, are you telling me you never sleep with someone for your job?”

He frowned and for a very brief moment she felt like an ass but it quickly passed.

“I have some principles. Seducing someone who has already suffered from emotional manipulation is where I draw the line.”

She stared at him, looking for any hint of deception, but his thumbs continued to rub her skin.

“Do you expect me to thank you for that?” she asked in a strained voice.

He shrugged. “Nope. Just tellin’ it like it is.”

Darcy rubbed her face. Shooing him would probably be the wisest choice, but she felt raw and ready to burst. Left alone, she would simply feel awful, have difficulties getting to sleep and be upset in the morning. The choice was easily made. She grabbed his hands and pulled him to her. He settled next to her.

“I hope you realized how lucky you are that I haven’t tasered you yet. And like, quadruply so to be sharing my bed,” she grumbled out of principle.

“I know,” Clint whispered before kissing her cheek softly, just a touch, a caress, before he slowly cocooned her in his arms. His fingers were in her hair, massaging her scalp. This simple contact felt _so_ good that she shivered and held on to him, her hands twitching on his hips. He withdrew and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. “Take deep breathes.”

She did, but self-consciousness suddenly made her feel awful. She was going to crash hard emotionally and doing it in front of a SHIELD agent was such a stupid mistake. Darcy turned her head to escape his gaze and raised her hands to hide her face. “I changed my mind, go away,” she muttered.

“Are you sure?” He pulled away. She could feel him sitting beside her, giving her space but not leaving. “I’m not on mission anymore, this is between us and to me it looks like you need to hold on to someone.”

“Yeah? And I can trust you to keep it to yourself?” She fueled her tone with as much skepticism as she could muster, but she was shivering and curling up.

“Yeah. I promise.” One of his large hand spread on her back, a source of warmth and support, but didn’t move.

She sniffled. “… Ok.”

Clint lay down behind her, put an arm around her waist and held her against his chest. He battled a bit with the cover but finally managed to pull it on top of them. He arranged them patiently for optimum cuddle time, and rubbed his cheek against hers as she sniffled. His warmth calmed her shivers.

“Is Clint even your name?” She asked to distract herself.

“Yeah, it is. I hate aliases.”

She chuckled. “You seem like an awful spy.”

“Spying is not my specialty.”

“No?”

“No, I’m a marksman.”

“So, what? You got saddled with me because you’re the most handsome thirty-something agent?”

He snorted. “I don’t know about that, but Coulson wanted to keep it quiet. I guess I’m good at that.”

She hummed and burrowed a little deeper in his arms, a hand on his. She felt calmer but still fragile, like the wrong word could make her burst into tears. “You’re good at cuddles in any case.”

“Yeah? And yet I don’t have much experience.”

“Let’s call it good instincts then.”

He rubbed her tummy slowly. “I’m still not a mind-reader though. Tell me what you need.”

“I–I don’t know...” She hid her face in the sheets. “I feel so stupid,” she whispered.

“Don’t.” He dropped butterfly kisses on her neck. “Whatever _he_ said or did, you’re here today and you’re doing well despite guys falling from space, Destroyers and government agents. That’s not stupid. That’s the doing of a strong woman.”

“I’m not strong.”

“You are, in your own way.”

“Strong people don’t cry.” The answer was automatic as she remembered Stane growling at her “Stop crying, neither Stanes nor Starks cry! Crying is for the weak.”

“That’s bullshit. Strong people do whatever they need, whatever other people think. If you need to cry, then cry, kitten.”

She sniffled but realized as her foot brushed Clint’s that she didn’t want to cry anymore. She just… needed… contact. She squirmed to turn around and got her arms around his torso, bringing them as close as possible and clinging to him like an octopus. He didn’t mind, petting her lazily.

She yawned against his collarbone.

“Go to sleep,” he encouraged her, nuzzling her cheek.

She was feeling comfortable against his chest and it was nearly 4am, no reason to resist. “Don’t do spy stuff while I sleep,” she mumbled.

“Promise.”

When she woke up in the morning, light flooding from under the blinds, Clint was already up and putting his shirt on. He smiled when she shifted and looked at him from under the sheets, curled up as she was.

“I’ve got to go,” he said before holding out his hand to cup her face.

She leaned into it, craving the contact of his rough and calloused fingers against her soft skin. “Will I see you around?”

“Probably not. I’ll be reassigned soon.”

“Oh ok… See ya.”

He ran his fingers through her hair one last time. “See ya, kitten.” And he was gone.

 

A bit later, Darcy, Erik and Jane were sitting in front of coffee and pop-tarts. While stirring her hot chocolate, Darcy glanced around to be sure no SHIELD agents were too close. “So,” she started. “I don’t think it’s really interesting but…”

“We don’t want to know about your booty-call, Darcy,” Erik interrupted her.

Darcy wrinkled her nose. “Well, since you insist, he was the best I’ve ever had at cuddles, thank you for asking.” She stuck her tongue at Erik when he face-palmed. “What I was _trying_ to say is that some people think my step-father’s identity is important to know, so, for the record, I was raised by Obadiah Stane and he was shit at it, there.”

Jane’s gaze went from the ceiling to Darcy’s eyes instantly. Erik did the same. They seemed both so focused on her that she squirmed, waiting for questions, exclamations, something…

“Uh… I don’t get why it matters. He was a dick, but I’m not like him, it doesn’t change anything,” she muttered.

Erik put his mug down and leaned forward, frowning. “I met Stane. He wasn’t what I’d call father material in any way.”

“Well, that’s a fucking understatement! But people think because we’re linked by a piece of paper I might betray everyone, just like him, which is…” They seemed confused. “… Oh, yeah, right, that part isn’t public. Oops? Anyway, forget I said anything, I just thought I had to get it out there, you know.” She stood up quickly, waved and went to play with her laptop. She had to check that Clint didn’t do anything to her baby.

Erik and Jane exchanged concerned glances.

“Do you think that he hurt her?” Jane asked.

“Yeah, without question,” Erik had no doubt about that man, none at all, and it was just in the way Darcy talked about it...

“Should I talk to her?” Jane wondered, hesitant.

Erik shook his head. “She clearly prefers to ignore her past. Let’s just… be ready to listen if needed.”

Jane nodded. That, she could do. Darcy knew how to make her listen anyway. She went back to work.

 

Miles away, Coulson sighed as Clint stood before him. “You need to stop doing that.”

“Doing what, Sir?”

“Getting attached to the women I send you after.”

“Well, I can’t help it if you have good taste, Sir.”

Coulson shook his head. “I’m surprised you didn’t recruit her.”

Clint smirked. “Is that why you sent me? Nah. SHIELD is not her style.”

Coulson didn’t react, playing with a pen, looking thoughtful. “You handled it well.”

Clint crossed his arms. “If you say so.”

“We all have to do some things we’d prefer not to. What differentiates a good agent from a good man is how we do it.”

“Why didn’t you give me stricter orders then?”

“You know more about difficult childhood than I do. I trusted your instincts… I trust you.” Coulson concluded before handing him a file. “Director Fury wants you to protect the Tesseract. No more spy stuff, as promised.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, for the little story, Clint and Darcy had sex in the first draft of this chapter, but my dear beta [Belladonnaprice](http://belladonnaprice.tumblr.com) told me it didn't seem right to her that Clint would manipulate Darcy like that and I realized she was absolutely right. So I rewrote it, with Clint pretending he's gay instead and their relationship staying platonic (for now at least... I've no idea where this story is going romantically speaking since it isn't the main focus... ^^').  
> Oh, and Coulson's interrogation is so much better thanks to _belladonaprice_ 's help with all these leading statements.  
> I'm happier with how Clint and Coulson turned out now, thanks to her. =)


	3. My dad learns about me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for all the love and comments! I'm really glad you liked the previous chapters. ♥ As always _belladonnaprice_ helped a lot by proofreading this chapter.

**April 2014 – London**

 

Darcy was dancing in the middle of the Fosters’ living room when her phone’s alarm started to ring, and it wouldn’t _stop_. Fearing a repetition of last year’s Malibu disaster (giving his address to the Mandarin! her father was _so_ reckless!), she threw herself on her phone and ran to her laptop while she consulted her alerts.

–        News: Military base in Washington DC under attack

–        Alert: Files detected on keyword: Tony Stark

–        Alert: Files detected on keyword: Iron Man

–        Alert: Files detected on keyword: Thor (Odinson)

–        Alert: Files detected on keyword: Obadiah Stane

–        Alert: Files detected on keyword: Jane Foster

–        Alert: Files detected on keyword: Erik Selvig

–        Alert: Files detected on keyword: Darcy Lewis

–        News: Explosions in Washington DC’s sky

–        News: Massive Leak of Classified Files from government agency

“What the ultimate fuck?!” She continued to swear like a sailor as she put her phone down next to her computer and quickly opened her monitoring program. She blanched as she watched the list of files leaked getting longer. A wave of panic hit her as she wondered how much of her life was in those files. Her fingers trembled on the keyboard.

She swallowed, breathed in and went to work, quickly typing lines of instructions. Her phone was still buzzing regularly. She ignored it resolutely, focusing on downloading every files of interest and deleting those concerning her and her friends. Downloading was easy – thank fuck for her very high speed connection – but deleting was really tricky. Everyone was interested in this buzz and she had to force her way in, pushing away any other hackers to get to her objective. She had to make some choices, but she was pretty clear on her priorities. Her dad was a lost cause – everyone wanted to know about him – but she was a nobody, deleting her files was easy and she breathed a little better once it was done. She then focused on Jane and Erik. She deleted their personal files, but that’s when she encountered her first _real_ problem: Erik’s name was linked to some reports of the Battle of New York. Deleting those would be nearly impossible. She gritted her teeth and improvised.

Distantly, she heard the door open as Thor and Jane came back from their romantic evening. She could feel them coming closer and heard Jane talk to her but didn’t understand one word. “Not now!” She answered brusquely without taking her eyes off screen or slowing down.

Her only recourse was to corrupt the files. She was targeting his name to be sure it would be erased, but being too specific would attract attention. She modified a virus and attached it to the reports. Then she used the same modus operandi to corrupt Stane’s files, obliterating her name from them, and Thor’s files, obliterating all of their names.

Her fingers hovered over her keypad as she thought about her next step. “Thor! Quick! Do you mind if everyone on Earth knows nearly everything _I_ know about you and Loki? Yes or No?”

“No.”

“Ok, cool.” Because that would have been tricky. She was pretty sure everyone wanted to know everything about Loki.

That being done, Darcy suddenly found herself bereft of anything to do. She blinked consciously for the first time in – she glanced at the clock – nearly three hours. Ok, no biggie, she had done worse. A hand waved in front of her, and she turned to look at Jane. Her boss had her arms crossed and a heavy frown on.

“Are you done? Does that have anything to do with Washington?” She pointed at the television showing smoke rising from a crumbling building. Erik – when the hell had he come back from the lab? – was on the couch, and Thor was standing in front of the screen in a position very similar to Jane’s.

The intern took off her glasses to rub her eyes. “Uh, yeah? I don’t know what happened, but there was a massive leak of SHIELD’s files on the internet.” She explained what she did, and they carefully listened to her.

Jane nodded, appreciative. “That’s good.”

Erik stood up and came to hug Darcy – he did that often now, you got used to it. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, uh, no biggie,” she assured, patting his arm and trying to breathe through his embrace.

A phone rang – again – and Darcy automatically scrambled for her phone. “Uh, it’s not mine,” she realized.

“It’s mine,” Thor announced. Darcy had procured a phone for him once it was clear he was staying but, from what she knew, few people had his number. “It is the Man of Iron. I hope he has news of our SHIELD friends.” Since Thor hated holding the phone (it was an antique to him) and had a lack of regard for the concept of privacy, he immediately put the call on speaker. “Tony, my friend, tell me no Avengers were injured in your city of Washington…”

“Sorry buddy, but Cap is being checked in to the hospital as we speak. He’ll make it, though.”

“I’m relieved to hear it. Do you need me?”

“Not immediately, but you might want to come back here and bring Dr Foster and company for safety.”

“You believe my companions might be in danger?” Thor focused on that, shifting into protective mode.

“Can’t say. SHIELD was apparently corrupted from the core. Hydra has been hit hard today but they tend toward violent unpredictability when you start cutting off heads.”

“I... am not sure I understand,” Thor said, frowning. Jane told him she would explain, and Darcy stood up to get closer to the phone’s mic.

“Oy, Stark.”

“… Dumpling?”

“Yeah, it’s me. What are you doing about the data leak? What’s the deal?”

He sighed. “That’s Black Widow’s doing.”

She gaped. “Are you telling me it’s _voluntary_?”

“Yep. Desperate measures for desperate times or something like that. Jarvis is looking into it and trying to limit the damage. I have to go back to it by the way, I was just calling to warn you and gather the troops. See y’all soon.” He hung up.

Darcy rolled her eyes. “Whatever,” she grumbled, taking off her glasses to rub her nose and stem her incoming headache. She felt drained.

“Are you alright Lady Darcy?”

She smiled weakly at Thor. “Yeah.”

Thor knew better than to listen to her. He opened his arms and she stepped forward to get a hug. Thor was a hugger, a cuddler even, and Jane was not (or only for romantical/sexual purposes). So, they had a thing: when Darcy needed a hug, instead of going to her best friend, she went to Thor and when Thor wanted to spontaneously hug someone, instead of bothering his girlfriend and getting scolded, he looked for Darcy, and everyone was happy.

Her face hidden against Thor’s chest, she breathed in his familiar and reassuring scent and remembered that, whatever happened, she wasn’t alone in this mess of a world.

Gently, Thor ran his fingers through her hair before stroking her back. He knew that he shouldn’t talk when she needed a hug, unless she asked him to.

Darcy finally stepped back, sighed and straightened up. “Now, it’s midnight and I don’t fucking care about stupid Avengers doing stupid things. Thanks for the hug, buddy. I’m going to sleep. Good night everyone.”

“Darcy,” Jane called as her intern disappeared in the hallway.

“Yeah, I’ll book plane tickets for New York tomorrow!” Darcy shouted back.

 

They left London five days later. Ian had gone back to college in January and Darcy sent him a brief text to tell him they were leaving when Erik insisted. She got back a “Ok, have a good flight”, showed it to Erik to satisfy him and managed not to roll her eyes.

She had been in a pretty shitty mood since Washington, so sue her. She had kept a close eye on the leak and everything published about it. It made her tense and easily irritable. Jane and Thor wisely left her alone but Erik was… let’s say a bit more socially oblivious.

Darcy couldn’t bear the idea of spending more than seven hours in coach in her touchy mood so she bought everyone business class tickets and ignored Jane’s gaping. As usual when she did something like that (which was rare), she simply said: “Stane is buying.”

That’s how she survived the flight and had enough privacy to pull up the SHIELD files she had downloaded. She hadn’t found the time and courage to look at them yet. She opened her own as Erik snored next to her.

Most of the data they had on her wasn’t surprising. A few times she wondered how they knew about that time she went over the wall in boarding school, as well as other small incidents, but mostly nothing shocking (though there really was a ‘prefers older men’ note!), certainly nothing about her biological father, listed as unknown, just like it was on every official paper since her birth. She relaxed. Then, there was Barton’s report on her. That’s where the fun bits were.

_“(…) Ms Lewis displayed reflexive loyalty to Dr Foster and a willingness to protect her research and interests. (…) Even though she willingly answered questions, her attachment to her laptop goes beyond simple privacy concerns. She tries to protect a personal secret, most likely related to her family history, supposedly of minimal interest for SHIELD but of emotional importance to her. (…) Her interest in illegal activities and sensitive ideologies seems very low. However her curiosity and loyalty might be utilized to set up a new deal depending on who she interacts and associates with._

_“Conclusion: No Threat. Low level Person of Interest. Minimal surveillance during sensitive activities advised._

_“Addendum: The tracking and spying program downloaded to her laptop was deactivated shortly after mission. The tracking device on her iPod went silent two days after. Computing skills assessment heightened to Expert Level.”_

Darcy snickered at that last paragraph, glad to have pulled one over on SHIELD. She had been pretty pissed when she realized they were also tracking her iPod after all.

None of the other files were groundbreaking either, even if she felt a little guilty when she finished reading Erik’s file with the report on his brainwashed work for Loki and the consequences thereof. He had gone through so much… She felt uneasy reading what happened and gently adjusted his pillow while he slept. And to think that Clint Barton aka Hawkeye (marksman, pff, what an understatement) had gone through something similar... She felt viciously glad about Loki's death and then glanced guiltily at Thor (he and Jane were sleeping too in their adjoining seats behind them and... they were cute, contrary to Erik). She didn’t like people messing with her favorites, okay?! And the fact that Clint Barton was in her list of favs was totally incidental, it had nothing to do with her fondness for him, nope, not at all, that’s completely _irrelevant_ , nothing to see here, keep moving folks.

Darcy sighed, turned off her laptop and stood up to find the bathroom. As she walked, the businessmen in suits around her reminded her of a different flight…

 

 

**** September 1999 – Tony Stark’s Private Jet, somewhere above Kansas ****

 

Darcy kept her nose stuck to the window as Mr Stark and his assistant talked business. There wasn’t much to see though, with fields everywhere. She finally relented and climbed down the couch. She could watch a movie, again, or she could try her luck with Mr Stark. At the beginning of the flight he was happy enough to tell her everything his awesome jet had to offer as entertainment, but he then opted to focus on the presentation he was on his way to New York for. He looked bored now though; Darcy thought she might try her luck. Nothing was more interesting than being with Tony.

She crossed the aisle and climbed on the couch he was sitting on. He didn’t look at her as he grumbled about paperwork, but Pepper glanced at her and her irritated expression softened when she smiled. Darcy smiled back and crawled on the couch until she was right next to Tony. She didn’t get any reaction until she passed her head under his arm, only then he finally stared at her. “What do you think you’re doing, kiddo?”

Darcy gave him her best puppy eyes. “I’m booored. D’you want to play video games with me?”

“Fuck, yes!” He tossed his papers on Pepper’s lap and went for the game console, a Nintendo 64.

“Mr Stark! Don’t swear around children!” Pepper pursed her lips but didn’t even try persuading her boss to continue working. She knew him better than that.

Darcy tilted her head. “He always swears. I think it’s a lost cause.” She stated mock-solemnly.

Pepper sighed. “Probably.”

“Come here midget, and get ready to be crushed at Mario Kart!”

“Well, at least he chose an appropriate game,” Pepper said.

“Yeah, but that’s because he’s a kid at heart,” Darcy whispered while walking away.

Pepper laughed, and Tony looked back at them, suspicious. “Stop conspiring, girls!”

They played at Mario Kart for nearly an hour before Darcy managed to convince him to switch to Super Mario. Since there was no multiplayer mode, it was quieter. She could cuddle against him when he played and, when it was her turn, he put her on his lap to show her how to best use the controls. At eleven, she hadn’t had a growth spurt yet and they fit perfectly. It felt nice.

Darcy pretended she fell asleep, hoping he would let her get away with a bit more time like this. He did. He played on his own, as quietly as possible even if he couldn’t hold back his curses from time to time.

Footsteps came closer and Pepper asked: “Is she asleep?”

“Yeah. Why are you making that face?”

“It’s just… I can’t believe Mr Stane sends her to a boarding school on the other side of the country, at her age.”

“She’s already had a year there, she said she liked it, that she has friends.”

“Maybe, but even so…”

Darcy could feel Tony shrug before he answered: “It’s the boarding school I went to… or, the sister school anyway.”

“How was it?”

“Totally boring. I was damn glad I got into MIT early.”

“Well… at any rate, she probably appreciates flying with you rather than taking a commercial flight.”

“You bet. There is no Nintendo64 in commercial.”

“I was referring to _you,_ Mr Stark… She likes you.”

“Pfft, of course she does. I’m cool.”

Pepper snorted and Darcy could imagine how she shook her head before walking away.

Tony’s hand brushed Darcy’s hair and she thought she could hear him mutter: “Why the fuck would you like me, kid? It’s beyond me.”

In the end, by faking sleep, Darcy calmed enough to fall into true sleep.

 

**2014 – New York, Avengers’ Tower**

 

Moving into the tower had been a quiet affair. Every Avenger was busy, Tony included. Jarvis was the one who took care of them, showing them their rooms and helping them settle in.

They only met Tony when Erik and Jane looked for their promised labs. They babbled about science, and Darcy only got a “Hey, dumpling” in greeting. She tried to convince herself she wasn’t disappointed… but she chose the quietest corner and didn’t move from there until Tony and Bruce Banner left. She wasn’t sulking. She was… handling her emotions in the most discreet way possible.

The third day, Darcy was making sandwiches for Jane and Erik’s lunch (there was supposed to be a great cafeteria somewhere in the tower, but Erik was resistant to change and claimed she made the best sandwiches ever… what was she supposed to say to that except “how many pickles do you want”?), when someone knocked at her door (she had her own apartment now, no more sharing cramped space with three other people, hell yeah!).

“Who is it, Jarvis?”

“Mr Barton.”

Darcy froze in the middle of her battle with the brand new pickles jar. “Oh… Uh, ok, can you let him in for me please?” Anything to win a few precious seconds to decide how she was supposed to react to his presence. Thor had told her that Tony and Bruce were the only ones of his shield-brothers and sister to be present and that Clint would be there soon, but she hadn’t expected him to come and…

She startled and dropped the jar when Clint appeared in her kitchen. “Shit! Could you make some noise like a regular person, please?”

“Sorry,” he said with a smirk, crouching to grab the jar which had rolled away but fortunately hadn’t broken. Then he opened it like it was the easiest thing in the world and put it down on the kitchen island beside Darcy’s knife.

She glared and he smirked again. She rolled her eyes. “What do you want?”

“I wanted to see how you’ve been.”

She glanced at him sideways as she sliced pickles for Erik’s sandwich. “I’m fine,” she answered curtly. She hated the “how are you?” question. No-one wanted to hear you complain first thing upon meeting so really it was either the basic and often gigantic lie “I’m fine” or “I’m sick and contagious, stay far away from me and don’t bother me with your politeness or I’ll sneeze on you”. The best times were when she could get away with the second option… they were too rare.

Clint leaned against the counter, unperturbed by her lack of cooperation. “Ok. I suck at that courtesy bullshit anyway. Stark and I would like to talk with you in his penthouse.”

Darcy frowned and pressed a slice of bread on top of Erik’s stupid pickles. “Why?”

He rubbed his jaw. “You won’t like it.”

That startled a laugh out of her. “Thanks for the warning, it’s a nice change. What is it this time? Still doubtful of my loyalty? Because I admit, I’ll vote for Thor as Best Avenger of the Year, no competition, sorry buddy but Mew-Mew and I have a _thing_.”

Clint raised an eyebrow. “Okay… I’ll relay that to Stark, his face would be worth it. But no, I mean, you won’t like it because we’ll be touching your computer.”

“What?!”

He was already leaving. “See you soon, kitten.”

“Barton!” She shouted after him uselessly. After washing her hands quickly, she ran to her bedroom to check on her laptop, but it was there, intact and untouched, no trace of tampering. “What the hell?” she muttered. “Jarvis, what the hell is going on?”

“I’m not at liberty to say, Miss Lewis. I can only tell you that Mr Barton has insisted on coming to fetch you himself instead of letting Mr Stark summon you.”

 

Darcy grumbled all the way to Stark’s penthouse after having handed off the sandwiches to her precious ducklings. She barely took the opportunity to appreciate the spacious and tastefully decorated loft, focused on Clint who was perched on the back of the couch and Tony who was crouched in front of…something that looked like a small speaker system but wasn’t.

The casing, all shiny and red, was originally from the 2000s and upgraded for an iPod connection. She recognized it, because it was _hers_ , and it was supposed to be where she had left it: in her apartment near Culver. She had bought it after selling off every estate she had inherited from Stane. “Wha **–** Why do you have that?” She demanded, pointing at it and glaring at both of them.

“We followed the data you downloaded,” Clint explained.

Darcy gaped a little because… they tracked those files? Was it why they had leaked it in the first place? “And? I was one of thousands to download those files!”

“You’re the only one who downloaded the uncorrupted files on Obadiah. By the way, nice work on that virus kid,” Tony said while standing up. “And hiding a computer in a hifi? Brilliant. I like the password system too.”

Darcy gritted her teeth. “You tried to turn it on.”

“Yeah, but don’t worry, I stopped the self-destruction. Nice try, though.”

She glared at him and walked to her baby, her best creation. She patted it, checking that everything was alright.

“I was the one who retrieved it,” Clint said. “I had a hell of a time figuring out that _that_ was the computer.”

“He had to call me,” Tony interrupted with a smirk.

“...but I promise I didn’t touch anything else.”

Darcy spun on tip-toe and pointed at Clint. “That’s twice Barton!”

Clint raised his hands. “I know kitten, I know. I’ll find a way to make it up to you.”

“Oh, no, woah, slow down, that’s twice what?” Tony asked, frowning. “Do you make a habit of breaking into and entering my girl’s apartment, Barton?”

“Since when am I your girl?” Darcy muttered while Clint retorted:

“I didn’t _break_ in the first time and why does that bother you when you were the one to tell me to go to Culver?”

“You did it for SHIELD,” Tony realized, ignoring both of them. “Did SHIELD bother you, dumpling?”

She gaped at him a little because what? why did he care? She shook her head. “I took care of it. Let’s come back to the subject at hand. What do you want with my computer anyway? If it’s just those stupid files and you know I had them, you just had to ask, I have a back-up on my laptop…”

“We think there’s encrypted data from Hydra in those files or linked to those files, like a Trojan horse, which wouldn’t appear in a back-up. We’re on the clock and Barton wasn’t far from your apartment, it was easier.” Tony shrugged like it was no big deal. “But it’s not the same if SHIELD bothered you…”

“How is that not the same? Just because it’s _you_ doesn’t mean it’s not still violating my privacy **–** ”

Clint stepped in. “I’m sorry Darcy. I wouldn’t have done it if Natasha and Steve didn’t need as much information as they can get. It’s a tense situation.”

Darcy deflated and sighed. “Is he better? Captain America?”

“Yeah, he heals fast, but he wants to go and hunt some Nazis like the good old days,” Tony snarked.

Clint and Darcy exchanged an exasperated glance. That’s when she realized that resistance would be futile. Privacy was such a foreign concept for Stark and spies, she’d probably have to get used to it...

She sighed and took her iPod from her pocket, selected a song and plugged it into the hifi. She pressed play and an instrumental song sounded out. Thirty seconds later, it mixed with _Shoot to thrill_ from ACDC, and the CD lector opened to give way to a projector facing the wall.

Tony spread his hands. “That’s what I was talking about! A personal mix with badass music, didn’t I said so? You owe me ten bucks Barton! I know my girl!”

Clint rolled his eyes and took a bill from his pocket. “Arctic Monkeys is ten times better.”

“I discovered them years after I made this,” Darcy explained, “and…”

“You had to mix the music yourself anyway, to eliminate any possibility that someone could find the music at random, brilliant.” Tony patted her on the shoulder before going to retrieve his gain. “Now, why is it all black?”

“Because a music password still wasn’t secure enough. It has a motion lock, too.”

“Oh, is that so? Jarvis will take care of it. Jarvis, synchronize.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Darcy turned back to her baby and sighed. “I knew I should have changed this routine,” she muttered. After a step back, she took and held first position. She couldn’t remember the last time she had danced in public, but in front of _this_ crowd it was damn embarrassing. Oh, it wasn’t much more than a few dance steps, a spin, some arm movement and a bow, but it was still too much, as evidenced by Tony’s immediate reaction upon her completing the unlocking sequence:

“You dance? I didn’t know you danced.”

“Guys learn to fight, girls learn ballet. That’s basic misogynistic education by Obadiah Stane for you. I hated ballet. I managed to switch for artistic gymnastics. Then I got boobs and the perfect excuse for never doing sports ever again.” Clint snorted and Darcy relaxed a bit when neither man mocked her.  “But that’s beside the point.”

The screen projected on the wall had left its blank state and was showing a polite “Good afternoon Darcy” on top of a kitten wallpaper.

Tony stared at her, head tilted. “Really?”

“Shut up, kittens are perfect. So, what do you want?”

“Jarvis will check on those files.”

“Actually Sir, I can’t. All access is protected by movement recognition.”

“Nice.”

Darcy rolled her eyes and breathed deeply. “Whatever. At the stage we’re at…” She drew a wide circle in the air, compressed it and then expanded her arms. The screen announced: “Security protocols disabled.”

“Accessing files…” Jarvis announced. They all waited (im)patiently for his assessment. “As you predicted, Sir, it’s a Trojan horse.”

“Ok, take care of it buddy and clean up after yourself, check the other files from SHIELD too to be sure, and warn us as soon as you have it decrypted.”

“Yes Sir.”

Darcy fidgeted. “Can I take my baby back?”

“I’ll need a moment, Miss Lewis. However, if you’re worried about the ‘DontOpenSelf’ file, I can assure you I’m not bound to inform Mr Stark of its content.”

“What file? What is it?” Tony immediately and predictably asked.

Darcy facepalmed. “I take back every compliment I’ve ever given you Jarvis. You’re a little shit, I hate you.”

“I have only the best interests of Mr Stark at heart, Miss Lewis, and I believe that on this matter it includes yours too.”

“My immediate mental health disagrees.” She looked up, faced Clint and Tony curious stares and winced. “Fine, but you should probably see it alone, just saying.” And then… she totally ran away, so sue her.

 

*

Tony was alone in his workshop when he finally decided to bite the bullet.  “Ok, Jarvis, buddy, tell me, what is that ‘DontOpenSelf’ file? Is it porn? Embarrassing pics? Sex tape? Oh, God, if it is, don’t open it. Don’t. That’ll be… Hell. I feel dirty thinking about it.  I mean, she’s hot but… no… she’s eternally seven and a little dumpling, that’s what she is.”

“It’s none of those things, Sir.”

“Then what is it? Come on buddy, stop making me sweat. Just… open it.”

“It’s a DNA test, Sir, and, may I be the first to say… congratulations.”

“E-excuse you?” Tony stammered as the file’s contents appeared on the holoprojector. It was indeed a DNA test, the sequences were unmistakable, but more importantly it was a paternity test, with his name and Darcy’s right on the bottom in a sentence that related them as father and… “Daughter. That’s… Jarvis are you playing a joke on me? It’s a joke right? It’s… it’s a good one buddy, a good one, I admit. Now, give me the real file.”

“It’s not a joke, Sir. It’s the real file, scanned but dated from 1993, one month before Mr Stane married Ms Lewis. The test was done at his demand.” Pre-empting Tony’s questions, Jarvis displayed another document on the side. “Mrs Elizabeth Lewis-Stane graduated from MIT in 1987. She liked to use the nickname…”

“Lizzy,” he breathed as a he took in the picture of a beautiful brunette.

“Indeed. Miss Darcy Antonia Lewis was born the 13th of July 1988, nine months after…”

“… our graduation ceremony.” Tony rubbed his face with his hands, breathing heavily. “The only time I didn’t use a fucking condom because I was drunk and young and stupid and… Jesus. That’s crazy. It can’t be…” He opened a drawer and pulled out a glass and a bottle of scotch. After one drink, swallowing heavily, he stuttered. “No, that’s a really bad joke, that’s what it is.”

“With all due respect Sir, I don’t think so. All evidence points to the veracity of this information.”

“Oh, yeah? And what is that fucking evidence? Go on, tell me.”

“In addition to all I mentioned, you told me once that you never met Mrs Lewis-Stane in person and that you didn’t know what she looked like since the only time you came near her was when she was buried.”

“That’s… yeah. There was no wedding party, supposedly at his wife’s request; and Obadiah never brought her to events, because of her health...” And Tony never cared enough to question her absence, or to ask anything about her, really. Obadiah and he were associates, not friends.

“Then there are the cues left by Miss Darcy herself, including the fact she referred to me as her… little brother.”

Tony poured himself another glass. “No, you see, that’s why it’s not possible. It would mean she _knew_ for years, and if she did, why didn’t she tell me? Like, the time I met her for the mediation, that would have been the perfect time for her to say so: there was no Stane anymore, we were cool again and I even asked her…” He froze, staring at the wall, the glass brushing his lips. “I asked… and then… then, she asked if I wanted kids… and I said no. I fucking said no.” Ashen-faced, he put his glass down and stumbled off his stool. “I need… I’m going to fly a bit.”

“As you wish, Sir.” A hidden panel withdrew to present an Iron Man suit.

 

*

The following morning, someone knocked on Darcy’s door. Restless, she opened it in a rush, her hairbrush in hand. Her shoulders dropped when she recognized Clint.

“Hey,” he said softly. “Not who you were expecting, huh?”

“Yeah, no, it’s ok.”

“If it’s Stark, you might have to wait a bit, Jarvis says he’s going on a bender in his lab and I’m pretty sure he hasn’t slept all night. He’ll crash hard.”

“Oh… okay.” Unsure how she was supposed to interpret Tony’s behavior, she fidgeted. “Can I do something for you?”

“I just wanted to tell you I’m leaving for a while. I have no idea when I’ll come back, some weeks or months maybe…”

“Hunting Hydra?”

“Among other things.”

“Ok…” She leaned against the door. “See you later, then?” Her lips twisted into a pale imitation of a smile. “This gives me a sense of déjà vu.”

“Yeah… I know, this is becoming a bad habit... but I promised I’ll make it up to you sooner or later and I keep my promises.” He took a step forward to run his fingers through her hair but instead of a quick brush, he lingered and gently rubbed the back of her neck. She closed her eyes, feeling the tenseness leave slowly. Clint was really the best at head rubs. When she opened her eyes, he was smiling softly. “See ya, kitten.”

She watched him leave, morose, and slowly closed the door behind her. She went back to get ready for the day but she stopped when she had to choose her shoes. Hands on her hips, she breathed slowly and looked at the ceiling. “Fine. Jarvis, privacy mode off.”

“Good morning Miss Lewis.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m still pissed at you for being a tell-tale, don’t even think you’re forgiven. Just… tell me how he took it?”

“Rather well I would say Miss Lewis. However, it’s likely he’ll need a few days to process the situation.”

“Oh… okay then,” she muttered, looking down.

“Miss Lewis… Would you forgive me faster if I called you Darcy, as you requested several times in the past?”

That brightened her up. “Yeah.”

“Very well, Darcy. Have a good day.”

“Good day to you too, nosy little brother.” She chose her red converses and skipped down the hall.


	4. My dad is trying

**4 days later**

 

Darcy barely reacted when she caught sight of Tony on her couch. She had been expecting something like this for almost a week now. She could say something about his lack of manners but really after _four_ days stewing in her insecurities (what if he didn’t want her? If he didn’t care? If he was pissed at her for not saying anything sooner? too many ‘what ifs’), she just wanted to get to the point.

She slumped on the couch, a safe distance away from her father staring at her, and untied her converses. “So…after  four days… conclusion?” She pulled off her shoes, chucked them into a corner and put her feet on the table.

“You’re a Stark.”  He scratched his beard. “I fucked up and I’ll probably fuck up again.”

“That’s encouraging...” Darcy focused on her pink socks and wiggled her toes.

“Who else knows?”

“No one. Well… my grandparents might have known. I’m not sure, but since they renounced their pregnant teenage daughter, I don’t really care much about them and vice versa.”

“You never told anyone?”

“No. Pretty sure if I’d ever had the overwhelming urge to come clean, it’d’ve been to you, but…”

“I said I didn’t want kids.”

She crossed her arms. “Oh, so you remember that.”

“I remember. I also would like to remind you there’s a big difference between not wanting kids, which is a personal preference at one moment in time, and not caring about your kid when you have one, which would be the characteristic of an irresponsible asshole.” He gestured widely to illustrate his point. He looked frustrated.

“Well, you didn’t care much the morning after, when mom told you there was a risk she might be pregnant because neither of you had used protection and you only gave her money for an abortion ‘since she didn’t mind having one’.”

Tony winced. “… How do you know that?”

“Mom took meds and alcohol, it made her talkative, a bit delirious even. She tended to talk to you as if you were in the room. At the time, I didn’t understand much of it, but I’ve a good memory. Did you know that she tried to get an abortion, like you suggested? But between her parents and the backwards asshole country doctors in 1987… failure.”  

“… Fine. I was an irresponsible asshole in ‘87 but I was seventeen, I grew out of it.” She raised an eyebrow and finally glanced at him. He shrugged and added: “Mostly. What I’m trying to say is that… I want to try it.”

“Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.”

He straightened up. “Did you… Did you just quote Yoda at me?”

“Obviously, you need advice from a Master Jedi.” She sighed and slumped further in her seat. “I manage my life fairly well without a father… or a mother, for the matter. I don’t need a half-hearted attempt from you.”

“Hey now, I’m all heart. I want it, I really do. And another thing, when I try something… I never fail.” He postured with false bravado.

She snorted and rubbed her cheek. “I’ll believe it when I see it. You might be a genius but, as Stane said, you’re not father material.”

Tony stood up and hit the table with his fists. “Fuck what Stane said! I’ll do it and I’ll ace it!” He realized how Darcy had tensed and closed his eyes with a wince. He raised his hands in show of peace. “Damn. Sorry, sorry. His fucking name’s enough to give me an ulcer.” Darcy snorted and they smiled softly at each other. He sat on the coffee table next to her feet, to face her. “Listen, sweetheart… I started to make a list of each time I screwed up in your life and how, and it’s pretty bad and I know it’ll only grew longer, but I can tr– I can make it better… if you let me.”

Darcy wavered at the intensity of his stare. She figured it was probably just his ego talking but… she wanted to believe him. “Ok… Then, what do you propose?”

“Your adolescent crisis is finished, right? You have your degree and everything?”

“Yeah…”

“Great! Be my personal assistant.”

“What?!”

“We need to learn about each other. That would be the most efficient way, and with a polisci degree and a _real_ science degree, you’re perfectly skilled for this.”

She openly gaped at him.

He nudged her foot. “Say yes.”

“I… I’ll need to talk with Jane.”

He threw his arms to the ceiling. “That’s a yes! Tomorrow, 9am, my workshop, I’ll have everything ready.” He pointed at her, walking back to the door and she stood up to follow him.

“Wait. Did you tell Pepper?”

“That’s a very good question! Yes, I did.”

“… She’s the one who saved your ass and told you how to handle it, right?”

“Pretty much.”

“Well, what does she think? About me?” She asked anxiously.

Tony stopped moving back and scratched his cheek. “Actually… She said the first time she saw you, that time you were with me in my office… she thought you were my daughter because we looked so much alike. So… she wasn’t really surprised.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, I know, I made that face too… Anyway, she always liked you.” He shrugged. “She’ll probably kidnap you sometime soon for a mother-daughter bonding session.” After that, he opened the door, waved and walked away.

Darcy didn’t stop him because she was too busy realizing that she not only had a father again, but a mother as well. She sniffled to keep the tears at bay. As she was going to close the door, Tony reappeared and raised a finger. “Question: do you need a hug? Can I give you a hug?”

Darcy snorted and stumbled in his arms, hiding her face in his neck.

“You totally needed a hug,” he concluded smugly, patting her back, before muttering “Ace it” to himself.

“Shut up,” she murmured as she smiled and breathed his smell. He had used the same cologne since she was a kid. It was a scent deeply ingrained in her, something that brought security and warmth to mind… and now she had the opportunity to breathe it in daily.

She really needed to talk to the boss-lady…

 

Jane was sitting across from her, leaning against her dining table, and squinting. “I can see it…”

“Seriously?” Darcy was a bit wide-eyed but, excuse her, she hadn’t really expected _that_ answer after explaining the mystery of her paternity.

“Yeah, now that I think about it, you look a bit alike and you’ve a lot of things in common… I like you better than him though.”

Darcy smiled. “Aww.”

“I mean, he’s stealing my assistant overnight! Just because he funds us now doesn’t mean that he can steal things from me.”

Darcy rolled her eyes. “Aaand, you ruined the moment. It’s okay Jane. I’ll be working just a few floors above you, I’ll make sure to come and see you, and I’ll teach your next intern how to feed you.” She patted her hand comfortingly. Jane shrugged but didn’t move away, which was a sure sign that the contact was welcome. “Just, can you do me a favor and tell Erik?” Darcy pleaded. “I don’t really like the whole explaining thing, it only makes it feel like a sob story.”

Jane nodded and bravely tolerated the hug it got her but she glanced intently at her boyfriend. Thor, silent and discreet until now (an impressive feat for him) took his cue and approached. As soon as he was close enough, Darcy transferred without a protest and clung to Thor’s neck.

“You’re good friends,” she muttered against his shoulder.

“So are you, Lady Darcy. You’ve proven your worth time and again. Your past and ancestors are merely a part of you. You have defined yourself beyond that by your exploits.” Darcy snorted – ‘exploits’ was such a fancy word – but Thor went on as he patted her on the back. “Family is important however, and I’m glad you’ve the opportunity to get to know your father better. Tony Stark is a complex man.”

Darcy hummed and nodded her cheek against his collarbone. Complex, indeed. She was thrilled she could spend as much time with him as she had always wanted when she was a kid. She had written off that contact once she chose to stay away from Stane and by extension Stark, but now that the opportunity was offered to her, she craved it. She wanted to know everything, be able to ask the private questions she never could about him, her grandparents… her family.

There were so many layers to Tony Stark. She had seen more than most but she was ready for so much more.

In return, he was going to learn about her. She’d expected to feel nervous about that, to really be afraid she wouldn’t be enough, but now that she knew he wanted to _try_ , that he was interested in her… the fear of rejection was gone. It was freeing.

Stane had raised her to be the next Stark. Maybe she hadn’t ended up how he’d wanted her to, but she was proud of what she had done. Whatever Tony threw at her, she knew she was going to master it just as well as every problem Stane had ever asked her to solve when she was eight!

 

“Holy sweet mother of Thor, what is _that_?”  

Her first day as Tony’s assistant was met with considerable fanfare, of a sort. Upon entering Tony’s lab, she was welcomed by a pure wall of sound, a mix of Black Sabbath and hacksaw. She covered her ears and looked at the ceiling, pleading silently for Jarvis’ intervention. The music’s volume lowered and, a few seconds later, Tony looked up. He took off his soundproof headphones, goggles and gloves.

“Hey, dumpling. Already here? What time is it?”

“9am, Sir,” Jarvis dutifully answered.

“Already? Uh. Didn’t Pepper say…”

“I’m here, Tony.” Pepper magically appeared at the door and Darcy spun around. As always, the SI CEO looked perfect in a light blue suit. Darcy pulled on the edge of her light cardigan. It complimented her white blouse and blue pleated skirt quite well but, even accompanied by her only pair of heels, Darcy looked like a nice librarian – at best – next to Pepper Potts.

“Pepper! Hi?”

Pepper smiled softly. “Darcy, I’m so glad to see you.” She opened her arms and Darcy didn’t even think twice about it, she went for a hug. “Welcome home,” Pepper whispered at Darcy’s hair. The young woman fought back sudden tears and whispered her thanks. “Sorry that you father is such a lazy overgrown kid,” Pepper concluded, startling a laugh out of Darcy.

“This is sweet,” Tony said, coming closer and watching them intently. “Did you take a picture Jarvis? They are sweet… and whispering.” He commented pointedly.

“Taking over the world does require _some_ planning, Tony,” Pepper answered straight-faced.

Darcy released her new stepmother and cleared her throat before adding: “Pepper just told me I could be the princess to her queen.”

He stared at them very seriously before asking: “Can I be the jester?”

They burst into laughter. Darcy leaned her head on Pepper’s shoulder as she tried to regain her breath.

“You can even be our knight,” Pepper promised.

“Knight-Jester, I like that, it sounds good. Take note Jarvis. This is perfect. I’ll be fair like a knight but firmly cruel like a jester. Then there’s the torrid affair with the queen while I protect the princess and…”

Pepper hit him lightly on the head with her tablet to stop his fantasy and turned to Darcy. “Rule one: be firm but calm.” She held the tablet out. “This is yours. Anything you need is in it, your contract included, read it and sign it as soon as you can. If you’ve any doubt ask Jarvis. Never trust Tony about his schedule. If Jarvis can’t answer something, call me.”

“Yes your Majesty.” Darcy replied with a grin as she bobbed a slight curtsey.

Pepper smiled. “I’ll have more time tonight.”

“Pizza?” Tony asked hopefully.

“Her Highness can choose. You’ll have time for dinner, right Darcy?”

“Uh, sure,” Darcy agreed without thinking (she couldn’t think anymore, her brain was dead, her stepmother was the most amazing person in the world), “but I want pasta.”

“Pasta it is. Behave for her first day, Tony.”

“As your Majesty commands!” Tony bowed extravagantly as Pepper walked out of the room, leaving Darcy with eyes full of hearts and stars. Tony waved a hand in front of her face. She had to blink to focus on him. He smirked and patted her sympathetically on the shoulder. “It’s okay, she has that effect on Starks, that’s how awesome she is.”

“Yeah...”

“Read everything she gave you and by the time you’ve done that, I’ll probably have a meeting or something…”

“Your weekly meeting with the clean energy division of R&D at 11am, Sir.”

“Yeah, that. Oh, and by the way dumpling, what’s with the clothes?”

“I didn’t have anything really professional; I didn’t need it with Jane. Everything is in my apartment at Culver.”

“We can have it brought over or you can go shopping… or you can wear that if you _really_ want but this doesn’t look like your style,” he commented with a critical eye.

“Should I have come in jeans, knitted scarf and boots? _That’s_ my style.” Obadiah would have an heart-attack seeing her with knitted stuff and that was half the fun of it.

Tony shrugged. “Whatever you want, sweetheart.”

Darcy blinked, surprised to not receive some advice on what to wear. She knew Tony had some good fashion sense after all, but he just waved and went back to his previous work. Thankfully he was done with the saw and the music stayed low.

 

At 10:50, Darcy looked up from the “How to handle the Iron Man identity” instructions and realized the time. She checked Tony’s schedule quickly to find the meeting place and sighed in relief when she found out it was in the building, thirty floors below them. She went to find Tony where he was fiddling with a holoprojected schematic and nudged him until he looked up.

“It’s time for your meeting, we have to go.”

“Ok, let me finish this,” he muttered distractedly.

“Are you going dressed like that?”

“Mh, no, I’ve a jacket somewhere,” he said, gesturing to the far end of the lab where a lonesome coat rack stood. Darcy went to retrieve the black suit jacket and came back to nudge him again until he took the jacket and put it on top of his graphic shirt without looking away from his work. Then she poked him repeatedly on the same place on his shoulder until he growled, gently grabbed her finger, pulled on it until he could hold her waist and kissed her on the chin. “You’re going to be an annoying little dumpling, aren’t you?”

She grinned widely. “Yep. Come on, you’re going to be late.”

“I’m always late.”

“Not to the first meeting I’ve to get you to, you’re not.”

He sighed dramatically and turned off the projector. “Dear lord, a cross between a Stark and a Potts, what did I do to deserve this?” he muttered and stood up.

Darcy was already several steps ahead and she spun around to answer “I thought it would be perfection” before walking to the elevator.

Tony watched her go, shook his head and murmured: “It might as well be.”

 

They walked into the R&D meeting room in time, employees staring wide-eyed on their way and rushing to get in after them. Tony turned to Darcy and said: “See, you’re stressing them, they’re not used to it.” Darcy snorted and took a seat on his right while he addressed the room at large: “Sorry, people. This is my new PA, Darcy Lewis, she’s a bit overzealous for her first day. We’ll get back to schedule as usual next week.”

“What’s usual?” Darcy asked, setting down her tablet.

He shrugged while sitting down. “Fifteen minutes late.”

“No more than ten. I promised Jane I’ll take the time to have lunch with her as often as I can. If I can’t because of you, she’ll have Thor do something drastic…”

Tony spread his hands in defeat and met his employees’ stares. “You heard the lady. 11:10 next week. Now, let’s get to it people, what’s new?”

Darcy thanked her experience as a college student for taking notes as quick as lightning because that was definitely not part of her internship with Jane. She could grasp most of the concepts they talked about but details evaded her. She played with a pen as they talked about the finest points.

Tony leaned toward her and whispered: “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head to say it was nothing but he nudged her foot. He wasn’t going to let it go. She sighed and glanced around. No-one seemed to mind, they were probably used to their boss’s poor attention. She leaned toward him too and answered: “I’m just wondering how Stane thought I could take your place when I understand only seventy percent of what you’re talking about.”

He smirked. “Darling, that’s fifty percent more than anyone out of his room would understand. Except Dr Foster… and Selvig.” She smiled softly and he nudged her hand. “That’s better.” He looked up. “Yes, Piers, I agree, but no Miles, I won’t give you more money. Don’t pout, it’s hard I know but candy doesn’t fall from the sky… not unless he’s called Thor, but aliens aren’t edible. Take note ladies… and anyone else interested, I don’t judge.”

“Mr Stark, you’re digressing,” Darcy promptly interrupted.

“Right. Are we done? Anything else?” He asked as he stood up. He was nearly at the door when someone scrambled and held a tablet out.

“Yes, Sir, could I’ve a quick signature, please?”

“I don’t like being handed things… just, give me the…”

Darcy caught up, grabbed the tablet without batting an eyelash, and began scrolling through the document. “Why do you need a new coffee machine?”

“Uh… it’s broken.”

“Don’t you have a maintenance department?” she asked at Tony.

He shrugged. “We do.”

She glanced back at the engineer who fidgeted, then looked at the rest of the room, no one was looking at her or Tony, finding their notes fascinating. “Oh!”

“Oh?” Tony repeated.

“They’re engineers,” Darcy summed up.

“They are...” Tony agreed slowly, clearly not seeing the point.

Darcy explained: “Maintenance workers are technicians.” And MIT taught her that no engineer with an ego would ask help from a technician. From Tony’s expression, he caught on. “I bet that their departments are at war and that calling maintenance for a coffee machine would be admitting that they’ve been bested by stupid kitchenware when they’re building arc reactors for a living.”

Tony tilted his head. “That is embarrassing.”

“No more than admitting in front of their boss that their ego is worth more than the several hundred dollars they would waste in a new coffee machine.”  

“True,” Tony admitted, hands in his pockets, clearly enjoying the situation, the jerk.

Darcy obviously was going to have to deal with it. She sighed and turned around. “So, I guess the faulty machine is in the break room we passed on our way…”

Engineers soon gathered in the break room to watch their boss’ assistant try to make him an expresso. Tony was sitting on the table, arms crossed and gleefully observing the proceedings. After several tries and nothing more than a few gurgles, Darcy hummed and opened the panels.

“We already tried everything,” a young man said. “It’s not the filters or pipes. It has to be the machinery but we can’t get access to it because it’s soldered…”

“They’re doing it on purpose to make it impossible to repair and get us to buy again,” someone muttered.

“If you know it, why are you doing exactly what they want?” Darcy retorted as she pushed the coffee machine away from the wall.

They watched her, wide-eyed, as she put a few pens and a screwdriver between two metal plates and used it like it was a crowbar until the metal gave with a crack. Then she hit precisely the interstices with the screwdriver to be able to pull off the previously soldered panel.  After that, the problem was relatively easy to fix and she put everything back together in less than ten minutes.

She ordered the expresso, smelled it to check, handed it to Tony who sipped it and nodded, and she pushed back the machine against the wall. The cracked metal plane couldn’t be seen, it looked brand new and it worked.

“How did she do that?” someone murmured in the back.

Darcy snorted. “Coffee machines are the bitch of the assistant, ladies and gentlemen. It’s essential talent number one for the job.” She handed over the screwdriver to the young man who had spoken earlier and patted him on the shoulder. “Be a little bit more commanding next time, alright?”

Darcy and Tony left the floor as everyone rushed to try the coffee. Tony was stone-faced until they were alone in the elevator. Then, with a smile, he opened his arms. Darcy raised an eyebrow at him.

He pouted. “Why does it work with Pepper and not with me? Come on, I want to give my daughter a hug for showing off.”

She snorted but readily accepted his embrace. “You call it showing off, I call it doing the job. Don’t think I didn’t notice how you enjoyed letting me do everything.”

“We bonded!”

“If you call that bonding, I fear the worse for what’s to come…” she muttered against his shoulder.

He frowned. “I’ll show you how Starks bond!”

 

**** August 2002 - Stark Industries’ Party at undisclosed hotel in Los Angeles; Darcy is 14  ****

Darcy had carefully chosen her hideout away from the party but with a good view in case Obadiah started looking for her. It was also beyond the staff’s access for added privacy. She had years of experience in parties to find the best places. Under the stairs was definitely a good place, no one looked there.

She had grabbed a stool to sit – if she ruined her dress Obadiah would be pissed – and she played with her brand new phone to pass the time. Soon, a voice distracted her: Tony was coming closer! She leaned forward to see. Thankfully, he wasn’t with an unknown woman (she always fled far away when he was because he tended to be different and she was obviously unwelcome in those moments) but with a black man she had seen with him before. He was one of his friends, called Rhodey, always in uniform.

They were talking, hands in their pockets, about some less than fascinating military contracts. Tony’s back was to her, but when she sighed and straightened up Rhodey immediately shifted his focus to her. She flinched; people were rarely so observant.

“Hey, there,” the man said, prompting Tony to turn around.

“Kiddo? What are you doing under there?”

“I’m hiding, duh,” Darcy answered automatically.

“From who?”

“Obadiah and all the boring people…”

Tony laughed and gestured at her when his friend nudged him. “Rhodey, this is Darcy Stane, Obadiah’s daughter.”

She frowned. Obadiah had taken to introducing her like that and if she dared correct him she was in for more than a slap when they got home. She checked, but there was no sign of him so… “Stepdaughter! And I prefer Darcy _Lewis_. But hi.” She waved.

“This is Major James Rhodes of the US AirForce. He’s a friend, you can call him Rhodey.” Tony said as he ducked under the stairs to join her. His friend sighed, looked around and followed.

Darcy’s stomach chose this moment to come to life _loudly_ and she blushed under their stares, looking down and wrapping her arms around her tummy as if it could muffle the sound.

“You’re aware there’s lots of food in the next room, right?” Tony drawled.

“I know but I already ate.” Two bite-sized canapés.

“Well, obviously you’re still hungry.” Tony would not let it go.

“Obadiah says I’m already too fat,” Darcy mumbled, eyes on her knees. If she went near the buffet, he would _know_. That man had a sixth sense when it was about monitoring her.

Tony and Rhodey did a double-take and exchanged a glance. Darcy never had been on the thinner side of the spectrum and she was filling out, which meant she was curvy, with her bare arms a little chubby maybe, but fat was pushing it. Nevermind that fathers _were not supposed_ _to say_ things like that to their daughters.

Rhodey made a face and silently articulated “Do something” at Tony who spread his hands and answered in the same way “What?” to which Rhodey answered by “You’re the one who knows her.”

Tony floundered and then proclaimed: “Well, you know what, sometimes Oby is wrong. It tends to happen, I’m the genius in our partnership after all.” Darcy looked up and he took that for a good sign. “Come on, he doesn’t need to know, tell me what you want to eat and I’ll bring it.”

She hesitated but when Tony gently pushed a strand of hair away from her face, she blurted out: ”Dumplings.”

“Dumplings? You mean, the apple pastries?” Tony repeated to be sure.

Darcy nodded. It was the first thing that came to mind. She had seen them and wanted to try them but Obadiah had stopped her before she could.

Tony shrugged. “Dumplings it is then. Rhodey, keep her company, back in a sec.”

“Wha– Tony!” Rhodey protested, too late. The Major looked down at the teenage girl and smiled stiffly at her. “Uh… so… Darcy…” He floundered for anything to say. “You’ve a really pretty dress.”

She smiled softly and smoothed out the midnight blue fabric. “Thank you. I chose it.” Which was a miracle in itself but Obadiah said she had good tastes when she bothered to try (ie when she dressed-up).

“Do you want to show it to me?” He offered, trying to convince her she didn’t need to cower with a calm, open voice. Shyly, she stood up and turned round, hands clasped in front of her. The dress was modest but complimented her curves and hid her knobby knees. He nodded. “It suits you, you’re really pretty.”

She smiled more frankly. “Thank you. I like your uniform. What does it mean the… bars?”

When Tony came back, Rhodey was in the middle of explaining what every ribbons on his chest meant, pleased that Darcy really seemed interested. Tony shook his head in despair. “Really Rhodey? Really? I leave you with a teenage girl and that’s what you’re talking about?”

“She asked!” Rhodey protested before realizing what his friend had in hands. “You took the whole plate? Really?”

“It was easier and the lady is hungry. Plus, they’re good. Here, dumpling have some dumplings.”

“Don’t call me that,” Darcy grumbled but she eagerly took a pastry.

“I smuggled pastries for you. I’m totally calling you dumpling. You can have some Rhodey, but stop talking about your war achievements, if Pepper catches us she’ll...”

“She’ll what?” They startled and turned to look at Pepper, hands on her hips. “What are you doing under the stairs? Oh, good evening Darcy.”

“Pepper! … Dumplings?” Tony offered with an innocent grin.

Darcy giggled and licked her fingers. Those pastries were really super good, worth it even if Obadiah found out she decided and took another one.

 

**Present - A few hours later**

“Tony? Darcy?” Pepper called when she came in the workshop that evening. Two heads appeared simultaneously above a table and she smiled at the sight. “What are you doing?”

“Bonding,” Tony answered.

“We’re replacing the videoprojector of PUCCAS with a holoprojector,” Darcy explained, pushing her glasses higher on her nose.

“Puccas?” Pepper asked, coming closer.

Darcy gestured to the computer posing as a red stereo before her. They were sitting on the ground, her skirt in disarray and his slacks wrinkled. Sitting between them were several mechanical parts as well as a toolbox. “Personal UnderCover Computer Audiovisual Sensitive.  My baby, he’s ten years old and needed an upgrade. D–Tony offered the holoprojector. I like it, it’s practical, even if it’s a pain for the eyes, just like 3D.”

Tony nudged her glasses. “Where does that come from, anyway?”

Darcy shrugged. “Mom’s parents both needed glasses. Mom too, in theory, but she rarely put them on.” She popped her gum. “Maybe if she had, she would have realized that sending a letter to the CEO of SI was a stupid idea…” At Pepper and Tony’s startled looks, her shoulders went up around her ears as she tried to make her previous words disappear. “No. Geez, sorry, I’m hungry, I say stupid mean stuff when I’m hungry… Are we having pasta, then?” She tried to stand up but her father gently pulled her back by the arm.

“Slow down kiddo, you can’t stay stuff like that and not follow through. What letter are you talking about?”

Darcy chewed like it could teleport her out of here. Pepper was leaning on the table, watching silently and calmly but Tony’s stare was intense enough for both of them. “Mom sent you a letter when I was like… four or five? It was after the first time I asked who and where my dad was. We were doing okay, she had a good job, but I guess she realized it wasn’t really fair raising me without giving you the opportunity to know about me so she sent a letter, but…” Darcy shrugged, “she didn’t have your personal address and I guess all your mail was handled before it reached you so…”

“Stane got it,” Pepper summarized. Tony was rubbing his face with his hands, covering his eyes.

“Yeah. He came to the house a few days later. I remember because it was the first time I saw my mom so scared… she asked me to go to my room but I could hear what they said through the air vent. What I didn’t understand then, I got much later.”

“Got what?” Tony asked in a strained voice.

“Basically, Stane said he would handle it one way or another, and that if mom didn’t cooperate, the other way would be drastic. My memory is fuzzy but I’m pretty sure he said something about an accident…”

Tony sprang up and stalked away, a thunderous expression on his face. Darcy watched him go but a hand on her shoulder drew her attention to Pepper’s soft smile. “Give him a moment to calm down. He’s angry at Stane and at himself and he doesn’t want to take it out on you.”

Darcy nodded and chewed nervously. “I didn’t mean to ruin the evening,” she said softly.

“It’s just as well that everything is out in the open. Now that he knows exactly how it came to happen, he will be able to focus on the present and what’s most important… you.” Pepper tucked a strand of hair behind Darcy’s ear, brushing her skin tenderly. “Come on, let’s eat in the penthouse, I believe you’re hungry.”

“Right,” Darcy agreed, standing up quickly and following her stepmother to the elevator. She fidgeted once there until Pepper opened her arms for a hug. “Thank you,” she murmured against her collarbone, forehead pressed to her shoulder.

“You’ve nothing to thank me for Darcy.” Pepper smoothed Darcy’s hair and stopped her reply before she could even try to speak. “Nothing. I’ve been with Tony going on four years now, and I worked for him several before that. Of all the things I had to deal with… of all the surprises… you’re the best one by far. Believe me when I say that I’m not only helping and spending time with you for Tony. We have history too, the two of us, and you matter to me too.”

Darcy sniffled and took a step back to dry her watery eyes. “Well, if I can’t thank you, I don’t know what to say to that…”

“You don’t have to say anything, sweetheart. I’m damn glad I electrocuted Stane that day. You deserve so much more than what he…” She shook her head and turned to the door. They had reached the floor long ago but it didn’t open until Pepper started to move. “Let’s talk about more pleasant subjects. What do you think about a day just for us? Believe me, after your first week as Tony’s assistant, you’ll need it.”

“Uh, ok… but, wait, you _electrocuted_ Stane?” Darcy repeated, awed, as she hurried after Pepper to the living room, where take-out containers waited for them on the coffee table.

Pepper looked mildly embarrassed. “When he was in his Iron Monger suit, yes. Carbonara, alfredo or bolognese, which do you prefer?”

“Alfredo. This is awesome. You’re awesome. Did you hear about the time I tasered Thor?”

“I… didn’t. Tell me about it,” Pepper offered, apparently glad to let her do the story-telling.

They settled down on each end of the couch, knees up to face each other. Darcy was in the middle of explaining Thor’s arrival on Earth when Tony sauntered in. He looked upbeat, like nothing had upset him before.

“I heard you were comparing electrocution stories? Fantastic! Is that bolognese for me? Perfect.” He leaned forward to kiss Pepper briefly and sat down between them. Darcy resumed her story.

 

They were finishing their meal when Jarvis announced: “Mr Rhodes is on his way up.”

“Oh! Yes, I called him,” Pepper said. “He wasn’t sure he’d have time to come by. Darcy, do you mind if we tell him…?”

Darcy straightened up and shook her head. “No, it’s fine…” He was Tony’s best friend after all and they already had met each other once. When Tony stood up, apparently pleased, and Pepper smiled, she gathered she had made the right decision. She stayed on the couch however, letting them welcome Colonel Rhodes as he stepped out of the elevator.

“You said you had some news?” Rhodey asked after they greeted each other. He hadn’t caught sight of Darcy yet.

“Yeah, so, I’m a dad,” Tony blurted out.

Immediately, Rhodey turned to look at Pepper’s waist and the red-haired sighed. “No, I’m not pregnant and we didn’t have a child together,” she quickly assured him.

“Ok, then, what…” Rhodey frowned before his face went slack. “No, you didn’t…”

“Don’t freak out!” Tony forewarned. “I have a daughter, you met her and she’s awesome.” He turned towards the couch and Darcy stood up, smoothing her skirt nervously.

Rhodey frowned. “Darcy? Stane’s daughter? I don’t follow.”

“I had a night with her mother, wasn’t told she gave birth, Stane learned about the child, married her mother and adopted Darcy,” Tony summarized. “He wanted her to replace me in his plan for taking over SI.”

“That’s... are you sure?” Rhodey asked, looking from Tony to Darcy like he expected one of them to say “got you”.

“Yeah.”

“Tony… I don’t know how, but you fucked up big somewhere in this.” Rhodey concluded, shaking his head in desperation before walking to Darcy.

“Yeah, thank you, I got that,” Tony grumbled behind him. “But I’ve an amazing daughter, that counts for something right?”

“Yeah, sure, good genes from her mother. Good evening Darcy,” Rhodey greeted her, offering his hand.

They shook hands and Darcy smiled uneasily. “Hi, sorry to dump this on you.”

“I’m good at rolling with the punches. Sorry you got saddled with that guy.” He pointed at Tony who raised his hands to the ceiling.

Darcy smiled. “It’s okay. I’ve been told he has improved in the past twenty-six years. I’m pretty sure I got the better deal, now that Pepper’s tamed him.”

Pepper hid a soft laugh behind her hand while Rhodey laughed openly. Tony faked outrage, caught Darcy by the waist and kissed her on the temple. She pretended to struggle and they ended up sprawled on the couch, Darcy across his lap. They all settled down. Rhodey asked a few more questions before taking a hint from Pepper and changing the subject.

Darcy took her leave a bit later, knowing that they would go right back to the subject of her paternity as soon as she was gone. So long as Rhodey remained open-minded, she didn’t mind.

 

The following day, Darcy showed up in jeans and boots (she drew the line at the knitted scarf or hat given that they were indoors, but her boots had heels because she like the badass sound they made as she walked). Tony glanced at her, nodded and said: “That’s my girl, looking radiant today. Love the shoes.”  

Darcy threw her hair back behind her shoulder and grabbed the file he had asked her to take to HR. She walked amongst the suits all day, feeling good in her own skin the entire time.


	5. My dad's friends are... intense

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, did I tell you how much [belladonnaprice](http://belladonnaprice.tumblr.com/) is awesome recently? I don't think I did so this is a reminder that she's the best beta ever. =)

**One month later - June 2014**

Darcy thanked Amy, their mute housekeeper, and skipped down the hall. It was a Sunday and while technically her day off, Amy had graciously agreed to help Darcy prepare the rooms. Living and working in the tower had accustomed her to weird hours, but the Stark’s were generous employers. Amy was also fond of both the SHIELD agents and their habit of putting the linens where they belonged.

Word had come in that afternoon: Clint was – finally – coming back with the Black Widow and Darcy couldn’t be happier. It had taken the two women less than an hour to complete their task.

“Jarvis, are they here yet?” Darcy asked as she entered the elevator.

“They are on their way to Mr. Stark.”

“Should I accompany them up afterwards?” She offered, wishing to see Clint.

“I… do not believe that will  be necessary. Mr Barton knows the way.”

Darcy frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Instead of an answer, Darcy got a ping from her tablet. When she looked down, a live-feed from an elevator showed Clint and Natasha standing intimately close together, touching foreheads. She couldn’t read their emotions, but the message was loud and clear. Clint didn’t need her, it seemed.

“Alright then,” she said in a strained voice, “my apartment it is.”

She walked into her rooms, lips pinched and annoyed with herself. “You’re so stupid, Darcy,” she muttered as she threw her heels into her closet and shimmied out of her dress. “So fucking stupid, it’s pathetic,” she grumbled as she grabbed a pair of loose pants and a T-shirt so big it showed a shoulder. “You have much more important stuff to do than trying to impress a man.” Her feelings were quite confused about Clint. She liked him, she wanted his approval and his attention, that was clear, but in what capacity? She wasn’t sure. Her feelings were a mess. A situation she thought was over after Stane’s death. That just would’ve been too easy, of course.

Thinking about it wouldn’t help. She slumped on the couch as she put her hair up in a loose bun. “Ok, where was I?” Her tablet switched on and showed her the scientific publication she had been reading before she got the call about Clint. She smiled. “Thanks Jarvis, you’re the best.”

Unfortunately, she didn’t get far in her reading. There was more than one reason she had been happy to stop her studying. She groaned and put the tablet down. “For god’s sake, why do they have to make these papers so boring?” She groused.

“As I said before, Darcy, you’ll learn much quicker if you asked Mr Stark for…”

“No, no and no, I’ll master this stupid subject on my own,” Darcy grumbled as she went to her kitchen for a cup of tea and some snacks.

Since she had started her work as Tony’s PA, she’d tried to get up to speed on all the  projects R&D had going. The robotic and the computing parts had been easy, those were her strengths when she’d been at MIT, but the arc-reactors were a pain to understand and it was like _the_ asset of SI nowadays. There was no way she could let that go, but to learn about clean energies she had to work on her thermodynamics and it was her worst subject _ever_. After a while, she thought she was up to par enough that she could read what Tony had published about arc-reactors but every few lines she was tripped up by some of the more arcane concepts and that bugged her. She wasn’t used to it: she was gifted, she always grasped every concept easily… until now.

“The publications are only a part of Mr Stark’s work, most of it is still kept secret by SI. Considering your difficulties, I believe you have reached the point where you’ve learned as much as you can on your own.”

“Tony created the arc-reactors and I’m just trying to get how he did it, I’m _supposed_ to be able to do this!” Darcy protested, dumping sugar cubes in her tea as if the carbohydrates could get her brain to work better.

“By whose standards?” Jarvis answered calmly. “Mr Stane’s? I do not believe he would have been able to grasp even a fraction of what you have with a semester of seminars at his disposal, let alone a few weeks.”

“Let’s not talk about that rat,” she grumbled as she stirred her tea.

“I wouldn’t, except you seem to still measure yourself by the expectations he held you to. _Unrealistic_ expectations, I might add. Mr Stark worked for years on these matters. I do not believe that, because you’re his daughter, his knowledge is supposed to automatically transfer to you. The easiest way for you to learn would be if he taught you.”

She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. It’s true she had learned much more by Jane’s side than she could have by simply reading about astrophysics, it’s one of the many reasons why she stayed as an intern for so long, but… “That’s not how I’m used to learning. I always had to teach myself.”

“I am told that the main benefit of family is that you don’t have to be alone.”

“I guess. I wouldn’t know, would I?” She sipped her tea as she looked by the window.

“Maybe you should ask. Mr Stark is on his way.”

She straightened up. “Did you call him?”

“No, he asked about you. I merely stated this would be a good moment for some Stark bonding.”

She barely had time to put back her glasses and adjusted her clothing before Tony knocked at her door and immediately stepped in. After the day he had waited for her in her apartment, Darcy had made an arrangement with Jarvis to ensure that Tony could come in at his leisure only once she was made aware of his incoming presence and didn’t object to it. She wasn’t sure if Tony knew the details, since she had never refused yet, but she had felt better knowing that, unlike with Stane, she had a say about her private space.

“Dumpling, why does Jarvis tell me you’re in need of some family time?”

“Because he is a nosey little brother?”

Tony smirked. “That, he is. But he means well.” He grabbed the proffered tablet.

Darcy rolled her eyes. “Just like his father, obviously.” She said with a wry smile. “Knock yourself out.”

“Thanks,” he said distractedly.

She drank her tea as Tony browsed her reading history, knowing the conclusion he would come to and waiting for his reaction. When he put down the tablet, he looked at her thoughtfully before turning towards the door. “Let’s go.”

“Where? Why?”

“To build an arc-reactor.”

Her eyes widened and she eagerly ran after him, grabbing a pair of comfortable shoes on the way.

That’s how, at midnight, she found herself with her first complete miniature arc-reactor in hand, beaming widely. Tony laughed lightly beside her and tousled her hair. She carefully put down her work before hurling herself at him. He had to steady them as she hid her face in his neck and muttered “this is so awesome” repeatedly.

He had been patient and supportive as he walked her through the process, answering all her questionswith a practical approach much easier to grasp than any texts would have been. He had stopped her from blowing them up two times but each time he had simply teased her gently. They had worked in good humor and she had built her first arc-reactor! Well… it had taken her no less than seven hours, which wasn’t very productive, but whatever, details!

She wavered on her feet and mumbled: “I don’t know how the hell you can work like that for days. I think I’m gonna crash.”

He nudged her chin. “What’s that? You got the Stark brain but not the insomniac part? Sweetheart, you got a good deal,” he joked but dragged her to the couch set up in a corner of his workshop anyway.

“I’m not as smart as you,” she muttered, lying down with her head on his lap.

“Are you going to compare our IQ? Because I’ve heard it’s low-class to ask who has the bigger one.”

She snorted and poked him. “I’m just saying, I am not like you or your dad, creating things before you even learned to read and write.”

He brushed her hair softly. “Well, I, for one, am damn glad you’re not like us, because we suck.”

She chuckled. “You don’t.”

“We do, and you know it. Darcy, is that why you worked on your own so much?”

She fidgeted before admitting in a strained voice: “I just… want you to be proud of me.”

Tony shifted and didn’t answer for a moment while he caressed her face. “I am,” he finally said, solemn. She looked up and they maintained eye-contact for a long moment. “I am, and I won’t think differently because you ask for help. I could have helped you to learn to read and write, to build a circuit board and your first robot… but I didn’t. Dumpling, don’t take away fromme the opportunity to teach you what I know because you want to prove yourself. You don’t have to. Ok?”

Darcy swallowed and nodded. “Ok.” She lifted an arm to brush his beard. “But I firmly object to your assessment: you don’t suck. You’re a pretty cool dad.”

He smirked. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, you’re a good pillow too,” she noted.

“You’re going to fall asleep on me, aren’t you?”

She hummed and closed her eyes. “Yep.”

Compliant, Tony adjusted their positions, grabbed a blanket and draped it on her. As he leaned against the back of the couch, Darcy yawned. Her breath slowed and she murmured: “G’night dad.”

His hand on her cheek stopped for a few seconds before he continued to caress her skin. “G’night kiddo.”

They had left the music turned on and she fel asleep to a mellow male voice: “ _But did you know, that when it snows, my eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen._ ”

 

“ _We’re never gonna survive unless we get a little crazy_ ,” Darcy hummed the following day as she worked at Tony’s desk in R&D. He rarely used it and had offered it to her as a quiet space.

Someone knocked at the door and she looked up to see Clint come in. “Oh, look at that. Hi Clint, nice to see you. Should I get your car fueled up for tomorrow?” Darcy offered, mocking.

Clint shifted uneasily. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’m sure something will come up soon enough,” she assured, still typing, eyes back on the screen.

“Oook,” he sighed. “Look, I’m not good at the passive aggressive thing. Can we skip to the part where you throw things at me?”

“Nope, can’t do. I’m not the Black Widow or a SHIELD agent, I don’t throw things or fight. Next option.”

Clint shrugged. “You tell me what I can do to earn your forgiveness?”

She stopped her typing and thought about it. “Nope, can’t do that either, for that I would need to know what I’ve to forgive you for. Did you break into my apartment again? My computer? Or my phone? Oooh, for the love of Thor, don’t say it’s my iPod. The iPod is sacred…” She faltered when Clint was suddenly by her side, putting a paper bag on her desk.

“I did none of that and I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. I promise. _And_ I brought you something.”

She glanced suspiciously at him but opened the bag anyway. She drooled at the sight. “Cronuts?”

“From the French bakery, yeah.”

Darcy took a bite without hesitation and hummed in pleasure around it. After her first mouthful, she grabbed Clint by his lapel to pull him to her level and dropped a sticky kiss on his cheek. “Alright, you’re forgiven. This is _good_.”

He chuckled and leaned on the desk while she ate. “Well, at least you’re easy to please.”

She pointed at him with her pastry. “Watch out, you’re not allowed to piss me off again, if I’ve to eat all that every time you screw up, I’ll get fat.”

“Doesn’t Stark keep you running?” He teased.

“You heard about that?”

“Pretty hard to miss considering you’re in his office,” he pointed out. “Does that have anything to do with your unknown dad and what Jarvis found in your files?” Darcy narrowed her eyes at him. He shrugged nonchalantly. “Just wondering if I should congratulate you for finding your dad.”

She openly gaped at him. “How did you–”

“Well, I already had a doubt last time we saw each other, but when I asked about you yesterday, Stark was a bit overprotective and now you just confirmed it.” He smirked. “So, Darcy Stark, uh? It has a nice ring.”

“You’re such a…” She searched for an apt word but just shook her head. “Whatever, just keep it quiet.”

“Sure. How is the new job?”

“Great. More stressful than working for Jane, but I’m learning a lot. It’s… great.”

“Natasha worked for him for a while. You should meet her at–”

“Not a good idea,” she interrupted him.

“Why?” He asked, startled.

“Because I’m still pissed at her for putting everything on the internet for the world to know.” She turned back to her screen, licking sugar from her fingers.

He frowned. “You’ve to let it go Darcy, you deleted those files and she had to…”

She raised a hand to stop him. “ _No_ , I don’t _have_ to let it go. She might have done it for a good reason but it doesn’t mean I’ve to be happy about it. _I_ managed to salvage my privacy, yes, but what about all those who couldn’t? What she did had heavy consequences and I’m not convinced that she had no other choice. If she and Captain America had bothered to call Tony, he could have offered them alternatives. So, no, Clint, I don’t particularly want to meet a gal I’m seriously pissed at, especially considering she can kill me with her pinkie.”

“… Okay,” he sighed. “Fair enough, I guess. Anyway... I’m glad things worked out for you Darcy.” He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly. “See you soon.”

She watched him leave silently. When the door closed behind him, she took off her glasses and rubbed her nose. She hadn’t lied, she was pissed at the Black Widow and at Captain America. They had left such a mess behind them and then disappeared as soon as they could, it was a bit too easy in her opinion. At least Maria Hill was working to create a new division within SI to try and take up the slack left in the wake of SHIELD’s destruction.

Oh, that reminded her, Tony’s meeting with Hill was probably over now. She reached for her phone and called him.

He answered instantly. “Yeah?”

“How did it go?” She hadn’t been allowed to attend given the meeting’s sensitive nature, but she knew he’d read her in afterwards.

“Oh, the usual. Hill has recruited Black Widow and Hawkeye for our little gig. Everyone was properly terrified by Romanoff, but Barton was nowhere to be seen.”

“He was right here actually and, I wanted to talk to you about that… Clint knows, about me… us.”

“How?”

“He guessed. He’s smarter than he looks.”

“If you say so,” Tony said, doubtful. “What do you want to do about it? Thor already knows, right? And I’m pretty sure Bruce guessed too. Do you want to make it an Avengers’ secret?”

“What do you think?”

“Dumpling, I’d love nothing more than being able to brag freely about you, but this is your call.”

“I–I don’t know. It’d come up sooner or later, right? It always does.”

“Secrets are a whole can of worms but the more people know and more it’s harder to hide.” She didn’t answer and he probably felt her indecision on the subject. “Listen dumpling, for now, it doesn’t matter. Just think about it and let me know. You call the shots and I’ll have your back, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks dad.”

“Anytime dumpling.”

 

**Two days later**

 

It was only nine in the morning and Jarvis had already warned her that the Science Squad was conspiring to play with explosive materials. The day promised to be tiring. Fortunately, Thor was there to make sure no one would get hurt.

“What did I miss?” she asked, entering Bruce’s lab. Thor was the only one to hear her. He smiled and stood up to let her take his stool.

“A debate about the Tesseract. Is that the garment you mentioned before?”

Darcy beamed and pulled on the edge of [her black T-shirt](http://www.chronoflock.fr/t-shirt-cinema-humour/309-t-shirt-thor.html)  to show it off. “Yeah! Do you like it?”

“I do. It fits you well and does justice to Mjölnir,” Thor approved with a pleased nod.

“What? What’s that, dumpling? What are you wearing?” Tony interjected, leaving his science friends for his daughter. Bruce, Erik and Jane finally looked up and nodded when Darcy waved at them. With his hands on her shoulders, Tony glared at her shirt.

“It’s Thorsday! Mew-mew deserves a little love. It’s so beautifully drawn.” Darcy explained proudly. “I got others, look!” She pulled a bag on her lap and took out three others. “[That one](http://society6.com/product/thor-watercolor_t-shirt#11=50&4=16) is because Thor looked cool on it, [that one](http://society6.com/product/the-power-of-lighting_t-shirt#11=49&4=136) is because Pikachu!”

“That’s the little yellow mouse in your game that produces electricity,” Thor remembered with a furrowed brow.

“Yes! The joke is perfect. And then, there is [this one](http://society6.com/product/light--destruction_t-shirt#11=50&4=75) which is just gorgeous.”

Jane came closer and squinted at the last one. “It’s good. Do you–”

Before her friend could ask, Darcy pulled out a new T-shirt and handed it to her. “Here it is, in your size!” Jane held it in front of her and nodded happily, she patted Thor’s shoulder when he beamed at her. Please with herself, Darcy grinned until she noticed Tony’s frown. “What?”

He shook his head and turned away, going back to Bruce and Erik muttering. “Nothing. Stop interrupting super serious science, dumpling. So, Bruce you were saying...”

Darcy frowned at his back and crossed her arms, squinting suspiciously.

 

The day after, when she popped into Bruce’s lab, he was only with Tony. She pranced around until the two scientists stopped and stared at her. She beamed and showed off [her new Hulk T-shirt](http://society6.com/product/hulk-9zb_tank-top#21=158&45=341).

Bruce adjusted his glasses on his nose. “A-are you sure this is a good idea, Darcy?”

“Of course it is! It’s for the days where people shouldn’t piss me off! It totally working, no-one looks at my boobs with this on! It’s my new fuck-off T-shirt, I love it.” She beamed and patted her Hulk guardian.

Bruce cleared his throat. “Ah, well… I’m glad it’s useful then.”

“Totally! I bought another one, just for artistic purpose!” She pulled [a long-sleeve T-shirt](http://society6.com/product/she-hulk_long-sleeve-tshirt#48=357&50=367) from behind her back and spread it in front of her. “Tadaaa! She-Hulk! It’s awesome, right? I wish I could draw as well as that.”

Bruce smiled slightly (finally!). “I wish I could look as good as that.”

Darcy burst into laughter and Tony finally shifted from his frozen state to pat Bruce on the back with a falsely sympathetic face. “Don’t worry, Darcy will look good for both of you.”

The good Doctor just shook his head. He was getting used to the Starks’ combined teasing. It was no wonder he was the first one to guess the nature of their relationship ~~~~after being subjected to them both at the same time.

 

Tony was a little more withdrawn after that, so much so that she put Hawkeye and Captain America shirts aside for later, not wishing to upset him further. She waited for Sunday to barge into his penthouse. Unfortunately, she was taken aback to find the Avengers (minus Captain America, still MIA) already drinking and talking around a pool table. For a second, she thought about turning back before shrugging it off and thinking “ _whatever, most of them already know_.”

By then, they had noticed her and stopped their lively discussion. Tony passed his billiard cue from one hand to the other. “Do you need something, dumpling?”

She bounced to him and grinned widely. “Nope! I have something for you.” She offered him a present carefully wrapped.

He frowned, put his cue in the crook of his elbow to take the package and unwrap it. “What is it? It’s not my birthday.” It had been a month ago, just before he learned about having a daughter and he had celebrated it in privacy with Pepper, just the opposite of his usual parties.

Darcy waited until he was pulling [the House of Stark T-shirt](http://j80designs.spreadshirt.com/stark-house-women-s-fitted-t-shirt-A12573263) out of the box to answer: “It’s father’s day.” Hands behind her back, she fidgeted nervously, trying to ignore the other Avengers, even if she could see Thor’s tender smile behind Tony’s shoulder. She knew her father liked Games of Thrones and the boost to his ego could only be appreciated, right? When he didn’t react immediately, she cleared her throat. “I ordered it at the same time as the others. I was just waiting for today.” She unbuttoned her light sweater to show off her own matching T-shirt.

Tony finally looked at her. He had been staring at his gift so intently before that it was a small miracle he hadn’t left a hole. His expression was unreadable as he handed his cue to Thor and put a hand on Darcy’s shoulder to lead her away. “Be back in a few!” He threw to his smiling friends before they disappeared in the hallway to his bedroom. Once in private, he embraced her tightly and kissed her hair.

She relaxed and hugged him back. “You were totally jealous, right?”

“Don’t tell Rhodey” was his immediate reply.

She smothered her laughter against his shoulder and leaned her cheek on it to smile at him happily. It was the first father’s day gift she had ever given and it was a success. She was terribly pleased with herself.

“How many more Iron Man T-shirts do you have?” He asked as he stroked her hair.

“A _lot_.”

“Good. Throw out all the others, only keep mine,” he said with a straight face but a mischievous tone.

She laughed and nudged him lightly in the ribs. “Not a chance in hell. One day, I’ll be able to live a year with only different Avengers’ shirts, that’s my ultimate goal.”  

“Geez, we might need to extend your closet. Actually, I feel like my princess should have a dressing room.”

“Absolutely, I have to be presentable when I go out with Her Majesty,” she joked. They grinned at each other. Since Darcy wouldn’t put it past her dad to suddenly re-arrange her rooms, she raised a finger to poke his nose. “But don’t, I like my rooms just as they are.”

“Fine, spoil my fun,” he grumbled with a lopsided smile. He tilted his head to the door. “Want to play pool?”

“I’ll probably embarrass you. I suck at it.”

“I’ll teach you. The trick is to think of it as a geometry problem,” he simply stated before turning around to take off his T-shirt and replace it with the new one. Proudly showing off the House of Stark tee, he lead her back to the pool table with a hand on her waist, convincing her to drop her jacket on the way so they’d make a perfect matching pair.

The Avengers smiled indulgently at them, even the Black Widow with a very small, very slight uplift of her lips. She didn’t seemed surprised by their familial relationship. Darcy glanced at Clint with a uplift eyebrow. He shrugged and waited until Tony was taking his shot to whisper to her: “She deduced it sometime in the last few days. Don’t ask me how.”

Darcy crossed her arms in front of her red and gold wolf. “Pffft, this isn’t even funny, all of you guessed or were told. I was expecting more drama than this, seriously.”

Bruce offered her a soda and smiled softly at her with a hint of mischief. “Don’t despair yet, there’s still Steve.”

The Starks glanced at each other and smirked gleefully at the same time. Clint shuddered theatrically. “Yeah, the family likeness is really uncanny,” he muttered just before he cleared the entire pool table.

 

**2 weeks later  – 2nd of July 2014**

Darcy was returning to the tower after a morning trip to the bank. She was rummaging in her purse when she stepped into Tony’s workshop.

“Dad, you were ri–” Her words cut out suddenly as she looked up and took in the scene before her. Her father was far from alone and was in fact being strangled by a guy with a metal arm. She immediately scrambled for her taser without even registering that two other men were standing to the side, too taken aback to step in.

When she brandished her taser, one of them stopped her from firing by grabbing her wrist and pushing her arm away. “Stop,” he said, but Darcy’s knee-jerk reaction was to immediately knee him in the balls. He grunted in pain and doubled over but didn’t release her and pulled her away in an awkward and slightly painful position.

“Oy, Rogers, get your dirty hands off my daughter!”

Darcy looked up from where she was trying to pry the guy’s hand from her wrist to glance at Tony. He still had a metal forearm against his throat –the man responsible was looking at her curiously – but he seemed fine. “Dad?” She asked, worried.

“I’m fine, dumpling. Congrats on kicking Captain America in the balls.”

“W–what?” she spluttered, looking down to a tuft of blond hair.

While the cyborg just smirked lightly, the black man tried to hide his snickers before asking: “Alright there, Steve?”

Captain America straightened up and finally released her, raising his hands in a show of peacefulness. “Fine,” he said, in a strained voice.

Darcy gave him a startled glance – holy shit, she had kneed Captain America in the balls! – but otherwise ignored him and went around him. She bypassed the black guy and pointedly stepped closer to the metal arm one until he let go of her father and stepped away. Then, without putting her back to anyone of them, she went for a side-hug that Tony indulgently gave her.

“It’s fine, dumpling. Robocop and I just had a disagreement.”

“Yeah, that’s why you’re croaking,” she noted, glaring at everyone else in the room. Captain America had recovered and was looking at them with curiosity, while the other two did their best impersonation of beefcakes. “Who are they?”

“You already greeted Steve Rogers. The others two are Sam Wilson and James Barnes,” Tony said, pointing at them without a care in the world. “Rogers, you just put your paws on my daughter, Darcy. Do it again and we’ll have a problem.”

“You have a daughter?” Steve and Sam asked in a startling unison.

“Need to know only,” Tony replied smartly.

“When I was talking about drama for the big revelation, that was so _not_ what I had in mind,” Darcy hissed pointedly at Tony. “ _Don’t_ change the subject,” she said to the others, pointing at Barnes. “You, hurt my father again and I’ll taser you, Captain America or not, got it?”

The dude was kinda sexy with long hair tied back in a ponytail but his closed-off expression didn’t do him any favors. He stared at her fixedly before nodding very slightly.

Tony’s hand on her waist had tightened and she glanced at him curiously. He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “We’ll talk later. Go see Jane or something,” he more or less ordered.

“Oookay…” Darcy drawled, looking at them all suspiciously. They were stone-faced. Feeling uneasy, she reluctantly acquiesced. “See you later then.”

 

Darcy was waiting for the elevator in the hall when Rogers caught up with her. He looked sheepish.

“Miss, I want to apologize for grabbing you. I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

She surreptitiously stopped rubbing her wrist and casually dropped her hands. It ached, but Captain Super-Serum could probably have broken her wrist without trying. Making sure he didn’t bruise her probably hadn’t been high on his priority list. She got that, so she shrugged and said: “It’s fine.”

“The thing is… Bucky has suffered from electroshocks before. I would really appreciate if you wouldn’t mention tasering him again.”

Darcy grimaced and shifted uneasily. “Shit, I’m sorry.” She adjusted her glasses and squinted at him. “His mental and emotional health is important to you, isn’t it.”

“Of course, he’s my best friend.”

“Yeah?” She straightened up and gave him a level stare. “Well, Tony Stark is my father and he has his own demons, including deprivation of oxygen from when he closed the portal above New York. It’s his own personal hell. I didn’t see you step up to ensure _his_ mental health.” He looked stricken then openly regretful. Before he could answer in any way, she concluded: “I’m not a monster so, fine, I won’t threaten your buddy anymore. However, if something like that ever happens again and you don’t intervene, I will taser _you_ instead. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he immediately and sincerely replied.

“Good.” With perfect timing – thanks Jarvis – the elevator doors opened behind her and she stepped into it. “And in case you underestimate me, Captain, my references in tasering include Thor.”

The door closed on his surprised face. She leaned against the wall and muttered: “Keep an eye on them, will you Jarvis? If Dad is hurt again, you call Thor _immediately_.”

“Understood.”

At the end of the day, after spending time with Jane and Erik as well as making sure they ate,Darcy went back to her office where she found Clint waiting for her, leaning against her desk, twirling a pen with nimble fingers.

“What’s that I hear, Darcy? You kneed _and_ threatened Captain America?”

“I didn’t threaten him.” At Clint’s raised eyebrow, she rolled her eyes. “Fine, yes, I threatened to taser Captain America. Whatever.” She sat and turned on her computer.

“Darcy,” Clint insisted, arms crossed. “Could you stop aggravating people who can hurt you?”

“Honey, that’s like asking me to stop breathing,” she answered sweetly. “I’m acutely aware that _anyone_ could hurt me.”

“Not like _this,”_ he leaned across the desk to grasp her hand softly, swearing when her long sleeves revealed a bruise.

Darcy shrugged it off and pulled her hand away. “It’s nothing. I’ve had worse, just like all of you.”

Clint was aghast. “Don’t compare yourself to us! We’re soldiers, super-heroes, or whatever. You’re a civilian. Rogers fucked up. Has he he seen this?”

“No.” She frowned and looked down at her skin. It wasn’t much really, just a light bruise, only consequential because it was wide-spread. “Don’t tell dad.”

Clint’s face was an unreadable mix of emotions until he calmed down, rub his face and tried to say: “Kitten…”

Knowing where that would lead, she insisted: “It’s not a big deal!”

“It _is_ a big deal _precisely_ because you don’t consider it to be!” He replied sharply. His intensity shut her up. “Listen, Darcy. We’re soldiers and, in the case of Steve, super-soldiers. When we fuck up around civilians it can be dangerous. Don’t simply sweep it under the rug. You wouldn’t have let it go if he had hurt anyone else, why should it be any different with you?” When she tried to open her mouth, he didn’t let her speak: “ _Don’t!_ Don’t find him excuses, Darcy. There’s none. He fucked up, period!” He breathed heavily and she fidgeted. “Kitten, we both know where this comes from…” He pointed out softly. “Don’t let people hurt you becau–”

“I don’t let anyone hurt me,” she interrupted, annoyed, trying to turn to her computer. Clint switched it off.

“No, not anyone, just people who matter to you.”

Disgruntled, she glared at him and pointed at the door. “You have made your point. Now go have a pissing contest with Captain America or whatever it is that will make you feel better and leave me the fuck alone!”

He hesitated before straightening up and nodding, solemn. “As you wish. I guess I’ll have to get you cronuts tomorrow, because I’m not going to bother hiding anything from Stark.”

When the door closed behind him, Darcy hid her face in her hands and tried to regulate her breathing. As tears went down her cheeks, she tried to remember she was doing better, she was doing just fine. She had a loving father now, their relationship was great, healthy and exactly everything she had hoped all those years ago. She was doing great, she repeated. This was just a small incident, nothing to panic over. She wasn’t going to run to a therapist, she didn’t need one anymore because she was getting better, much better.

Inhaling deeply, she groped around for a tissue, wiped her nose, dried her tears carefully to preserve her make-up, and she repeated aloud: “I’m fine. This is just a little mishap, it happens. I’m _just_ fine.” She exhaled completely, closed her eyes and held her breath. When she breathed again, she nodded and straightened her blouse. “Alright, back to work!” She declared brightly.

 

She managed to work for one more hour before she felt so drained she could only stare at her phone, willing it to accomplish exactly what she wanted – calling Pepper – without having to do it herself.

It wasn’t a ringtone that pulled her out of her lethargic state but a knock at her door. She blinked and straightened up. “Yes, come in!”

Steve Rogers stepped in, closing the door behind him before standing ramrod straight before her desk, as if he was a soldier reporting to his officer. That was a surreal sight. “Miss Stark,” he greeted her with a respectful nod. It was the first time anyone had addressed her in that way and it gave her a little thrill. “I’ve been told I’ve wronged you. I came to sincerely apologize for my misstep. Please, tell me if there is anything I can do to make it up to you.”

“Did Clint and my father gang up on you?” She asked, sympathetic.

“I… have not crossed paths with Tony since this morning.”

She prayed her father never discovered what happened, even if she knew it was pointless. “Their response will probably be way more dramatic that it needs to be. I’m fine Captain Rogers, it’s a very slight bruise, nothing really painful.” She smiled calmly and made sure to keep her wrist covered with her sleeve.

It didn’t seem to make him feel better. “There shouldn’t be _any_ mark in the first place. I misjudged my strength and I truly regret it.”

“You were worried for your friend, I get it.” She shrugged. This conversation was unsettling her once again and she really didn’t need that.

“I was. I am. But that’s twice in one day that that mindset has led to harming someone else…” Before she could interrupted, he added: “Be it physical or mental harm. You pointed it out this morning and Clint’s behavior leads me to think you’ve your own demons too.”

She played with her phone nervously. “We all do.”

He nodded, solemn. “True. However, I’m not only apologizing for the bruise – though I’m truthfully aghast I caused physical injury to a civilian lady – but for anything I did that might have upset you. I was clearly hasty in my decision to move into the Tower. I’ll make arrangements for Bucky and I to stay elsewhere…”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Darcy immediately interrupted with a deep frown. “Do you know how much time it took for me and the housekeeper to arrange your rooms today? Now, _that_ would be very disrespectful of you! I busted my ass on those rooms Rogers, they’re the best you could ever find in New York, with perfect security for your buddy to boot. If he doesn’t want to leave your apartment, he doesn’t even need to; your suite is equipped with anything you two could need. So don’t pull that loner bullshit on me, you got it?” She pointed at him, leaning forward with an elbow on the desk, ready to make a grab for him and shake him like an apple-tree if she needed to.

Taken aback, he stared at her wide-eyed before smiling slightly. “Starks doesn’t like to get their offer of hospitality rejected, do they?”

“Nope. So, see, since you owe me one, you stay. There, problem solved.”

“I disagree.” He took a step forward and slowly, telegraphing his movements, took hold of the tips of her fingers to lift her hand delicately. By pointing at him, she had accidentally revealed the bruise. “I owe you more than agreeing to accept your hospitality. I owe you the respect someone denied you and the care I didn’t take this morning. I’ll endeavor to do both, since you give me the opportunity.” He bowed slightly, staring at her eyes. “Good evening Miss Stark.”

Once she heard the door close, Darcy finally allowed herself to gape and fan herself. Having the full force of Captain America’s personality and sincerity focused on her was...intense.

“What... the hell... is this fucking day?” Forget her plan to eat with Pepper! She was going to crash like a wreck on her couch with her comfy PJs and a sandwich for dinner. She felt drained, but also… calmer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to _Unicorn_Lady_ and _Lost_Lovegood_ for giving me the shirts idea! It might make a come-back in a slight variation (*drum roll* T-shirts war) later. In the mean time, hope you liked it, dears!
> 
> About this chapter, I'd also like to say that this was _not_ how I planned the end. Darcy was supposed to resolve her tension with Natasha instead, but Steve totally took control and went “hell the fuck no, since you made me hurt a lady I’m so going to sort it out.” Who am I to say no to Captain America?
> 
> Songs in this chapter: _Kiss from a rose_ and _Crazy_ by Seal (my dear beta suggested I made a playlist, would you like it?).


	6. My dad's busy for the 4th of July

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three weeks for a rather short chapter. I'm sorry. My dear beta, [belladonnaprice](http://belladonnaprice.tumblr.com/), savior of yours truly in the land of English and basically co-writer at 20% of this story, said "red light" (again; the first episode was for chapter two). So, I cut a scene (to keep it for later), I wrestled with Bucky (I won but the frustration! the pain!) and once my dear beta said "green light" I was thinking "Oh thank god, I don't want to read it ever again, let's publish this and move on".  
> I hope the frustration was worth it. =)

**The day after – 3** ** rd** **of July 2014**

“Mr Stark is coming,” Jarvis warned her at eight thirty in the morning.

With a start, Darcy straightened up, smoothed her hair and lifted her cup of hot chocolate. Tony stepped in with big strides, walked to the couch where she was lounging and collapsed beside her.

She rolled her eyes and lowered her cup. “Good morning to you too…” He didn’t give hertime to sass him before taking her hand and glaring at the bruise he saw there. She was only wearing a T-shirt and the purple tint contrasted vividly with her pale skin. “You talked to Clint,” she concluded with a sigh.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s nothing, dad. I’ve incurred worse just from grocery shopping. I bruise easily, that’s all.”

“I agree with Barton, that’s not the problem.”

“Oh good, then you won’t be getting into a pissing contest with Captain America later? So good to hear, I’m proud of you, dad,” she said while patting his knee.

He glowered. “I’m totally kicking Rogers’ ass later.”

“No, you won’t. I kicked him in the crotch, remember? He and I, we’re even. And _you_ are a _great_ dad, _not_ an overbearing and overprotective one, which is why you’ll let it _go_ ,” she insisted heavily, glaring back at him and holding his stare.

His jaw moved as he tried to find a good comeback but he finally growled: “Fine! I’ll settle for kicking his ass during our training trip. Let’s come back to the elephant in the room.”

Darcy immediately looked back to the rest of her breakfast and busied her mouth with a piece of toast.

“Dumpling, I’ve let it go until now because I’ve no idea how to address this…” He moved forward and brushed her hair away from her face to be able to see her reactions. “… but Stane took a toll on you…”

Staring at her cup, she interrupted him: “I know. I went to a therapist after Stane’s death. I worked on it. It’s fine, you don’t need to worry about me. I can handle it on my own.”

“But you shouldn’t have to.”

“Being a father is hard enough for you, you don’t need to try and become a therapist too,” she chortled dryly.

With an exasperated sigh, Tony took the breakfast tray, put it away on the floor and sat on the coffee table. He grasped her face between his hands and connected their foreheads. “I did research, like the fucking scientist I am, and there was this phrase: _A great parent is everything their child needs._ And I’m the fucking _best_ at everything I do. So, suck it, dumpling, because now you’re not alone, I’m here for you, ok? I’m here, and I want to take care of you.” He felt wetness on his thumbs and stroke her cheeks to dry her tears. “I would bury you under gifts and stupid giant bunnies if I thought it would help, but I know you’ve money…” His eyes became distant as he said: “And I know what it means to have a childhood with every material thing you could hope for but to miss your parents… so, I try to be there with you and everything but…” He frowned. “You need to work with me, Dee. Tell me when you’re hurt, tell me when you’re sad, when you need a hug and when you just want to hang out, just _tell_ me.”

“You’ll get tired of me,” she whispered, choked up.

“ _Never._ I’ve twenty-six years to make up for. You’re not a whiny brat or an imposition or anything else Stane filled your head with. You’re a smart, witty, and sensible woman who deserves to be loved and cherished. You’ll always be welcome, always. Don’t keep to yourself because you think you’ll bother me, that won’t happen, got it?” She nodded slowly and sniffled. He kissed her brow. “Barton said he already mentioned it, but if any of the beefy guys ever hurt you, you tell them right away, ok? Hell, kick them all in the balls, taser them, have at it! I know my daughter won’t let any man walk over her. Am I right?”

She nodded again and asked with as much humor as she could muster: “Can I have a hug?”

He grinned roguishly and she giggled as he tickled her and embraced her with little growls and theatrics. She ended up nestled under his chin, breathing in his familiar scent and holding on tightly to his shirt.

“Are you sure you’re fine? I can still cancel my trip,” Tony offered with a hint of worry.

She shook her head slightly even though her cheek was stuck to his chest by that point. “I’ll be fine. Pepper will be there for most of it and I’m a big girl, I can handle being on my own, dad.”

“Maybe, but this is a stupid trip anyway.”

She chuckled. “You’re going to talk to the President and then you’re going to make sure the Avengers can kick assand take names. This is not a stupid trip dad, I know because I organized it, remember?”

“Ok then, you should come. Some prime father-daughter bonding right there. Gotta know how to handle the brass if you’re going to inherit SI. What do you say, Miss Poli-Sci?”

She smiled softly and kissed his chin. “Plenty of time for that later, dad. I’ll just stock up on cuddles right now.” She could feel the tension in his form. She looked up with a frown. “What’s wrong?”

He shook his head and rubbed her back. “Nothing. If you’re sure you’re fine, I should probably go prepare…” He tried to move but Darcy held him tighter, blocking his legs with hers. She did her best “I’m a stubborn Stark and I won’t budge” expression. He snorted, sighed and stayed silent for a few moments before admitting: “Before I was old enough to know better, I hated it when my father was leaving for a trip. I thought he was… getting rid of me.”

She shifted to better look at him. This was the most she heard him say about his less than stellar childhood and relationship to his father. Seeing his jaw tic, she realized what this was about. “Dad… you’re not him.” She hugged him tightly. “You are better than him.”

He petted her hair and hummed softly. She barely heard him answer: “That’s not everyone’s opinion.”

“Well, everyone is stupid.”

His chuckles shook her slightly. “I’d pay good money to see you call Captain America stupid to his face.”

She frowned and looked up. “Is that what this is about? Did he say something to you yesterday?” His closed-off expression was answer enough. Darcy suddenly regretted she hadn’t hit the national icon harder. “I kicked him in the balls, I can totally call him on his stupid out of date opinion!” She kissed his jaw. “You’re the best Stark ever. You’re my personal hero.”

“I’m not… don’t become like me, dumpling. I’m not a reference. I’ve blood on my hands.”

Becoming increasingly worried, Darcy adjusted her position to cup his face. “Dad.” She could have say a lot in answer to that but she could see the way he braced himself, ready to close his walls and stop talking feelings (of all things!). So, she said the only thing that could express everything in a few words: “I love you dad.” She kissed his cheek and patted his shoulder. “Now, go, you’ve to pack, right?” She asked, giving him a way out. The relief on his face told her how much he appreciated it. Obviously, he’d had his dose of feelings for the day.

“Right.” They stood up and Tony gave her a last hug and a kiss. “See you later kiddo.”

 

 **4** ** th** **of July 2014**

“This day sucks,” Darcy grumbled. She was in the common room, eating strawberries in front of the television broadcasting the Independence Day celebrations.

The Avengers had traveled to Washington to appear in ceremonies meant to reassure people that they were safe despite the SHIELD debacle. Only Tony and Steve were appearing on screen, but afterward they were going on retreat. Some out of the way locale was going to have the pleasure of watching them spar and do trust falls and whatnot. It was why Darcy hadn’t accompanied them.

Jane and Erik had chosen this opportunity for holiday as well, going back to London to spend time with Jane’s mom (she could have gone with them but London wasn’t really her cup of tea).

So, Darcy was alone. Well, she had plans with Pepper for tomorrow, but the SI’s CEO had several appearances to make today and Darcy hadn’t been really keen to join her.

She was used to being alone; she didn’t really mind. She vastly preferred to be comfortably alone rather than awkwardly crowded. However, since she had moved into the tower, she had gotten used to always having someone she could reach out to. Luxury was addictive.

After rubbing a strawberry in powder sugar, she stood up to make herself some tea. She froze when she made eye-contact with an unexpected guest.

She had chosen to lounge in the common living-room to feel a bit less alone and apparently she hadn’t been the only one wishing to leave her quarters. James Barnes glanced at her and immediately turned away. Darcy swallowed her berry and called: “Wait!”

He stopped, head turning to show he was listening.

“I’m bored. Do you want to be bored with me?” She asked spontaneously.

He turned a little bit more, eyes barely visible behind his long hair, and he sent her a startled glance that she chose to translate as “Are you crazy?” (Spoiler: maybe).

“I was going to cook something. Probably a brownie… Your arm looks like a great nutcracker. You can do that, to help… if you want.” She winced. What the hell was she spouting? Abort, Darcy, abort!

He made a strange noise, something like… laughter? Holy sweet Thor, yes, he was chuckling! She might not have insulted an unstable soldier, which was cool! Really cool. Her dad would be upset if she got maimed after he took the time to explain who their new guests were and why pissing them off was a bad idea (which was hypocritical, really, pissing off the wrong people was _his_ speciality… mostly).

“I’ve never tried to use it that way,” he replied. She shivered slightly. She had never heard his voice. It sounded rough with disuse.

“Well, that’s a shame. Must be handy for opening jars too.” She moved towards the kitchen and he followed her, keeping a wide space between them.

“I never had a problem with jars.”

She snorted. “Of course you didn’t. And you know what that means?” She spun around to face him and walked backwards to the pantry. “It means that youhave to open every jar I need with _only_ your flesh hand.”

“Is that so?”

“Yep. It’s too easy otherwise!” He bemusedly watched as she pulled everything she’d need from the pantry and the fridge and organized it all on the table. She gave him a packet of hazelnuts, a bowl and a smirk. “I challenge you to fill up that bowl under ten minutes with only your hands, soldier, what d’ya say?”

He smirked slowly. “Challenge accepted, ma’am.”

“Watch out, no shell left okay? Or else we’ll break our teeth on it. Not cool.”

He sat on a high stool and made his first try as Darcy watched curiously. She laughed joyously at the result. “Now, that’s _mashed_ hazelnuts!” He adjusted his strength for the next one and in five hazelnuts he had found an effective technique. Darcy gawked at his speed. His dexterity seemed a bit impaired with the metal hand – not enough sensors, too much rigidity, she thought – but he was fast, focused and methodical.

In less than eight minutes he had filled the bowl while Darcy had watched mesmerized, her own brownie preparations ignored. “Dude,” she drawled, “I’m totally keeping you as nutcracker! It would have taken me at least twice as long to do that!” He smirked and their eyes met with a sparkle of mischief. “Nutcracker is your new nickname.”

“I’ll bear it proudly.”

She laughed and any remaining tension between them disappeared. He watched as she baked and explained to him what she was doing. He didn’t talk much but that was fine. She simply talked twice as much, talking about food, what she saw on TV and how she was excited to see the fireworks because her father had promised her she would have a great view from the balcony (and did he want to watch them with her? because it’ll be better with company).

While they waited for the brownie to bake, Darcy led James to the couch and thought herself terribly clever for showing him the first episode of Agent Carver. “You tell me if it triggers you or something, but it’s just _awesome_. She’s a badass and dad says that the real one, Peggy Carter, was even better. And even though it’s historical fiction rather than actual history, I thought it might help with the memory thing.”

Despite her early confidence, Darcy worried about the wisdom of her decision; James was stone-faced throughout. Even with careful watching from the corner of her eyes, she couldn’t get a read on any emotion whatsoever. As the end credits rolled, she couldn’t help but wonder if this had been a mistake. She _loved_ Agent Betty Carver something fierce, but it was probably a risky gamble. With a little disappointed pout, she stood to respond to the beep of the oven timer. She met James’ eyes and he noted calmly: “Your father’s right. Peggy was even better.”

Her apprehension melted away and she beamed. She forcefully stopped herself from asking for details and chose to ask him his opinion on the series instead. While he started by criticizing the fighting, she managed to get him to comment on the historical accuracy and even got some of his personal feelings on the characters – she couldn’t help but snicker when he said “nah, Steve wouldn’t have hit him for that sexist comment. He’d have stared the guy down with his son-you’re-a-disappointment face and then watched as Peggy knocked him on his ass.” It was the most she’d heard him say in one sentence. With the product of her baking in hand and this success under her belt, she felt proud of herself and grinned widely at him even though he went back to his dark, thousand yard stare shortly after. It was a success and even a Stark couldn’t build Rome in a day.

 

They ended up on the terrace at nightfall with a plate of hazelnut brownies and tea between them. They were listening to a soft song to keep the silence at bay (that would be too awkward and she couldn’t talk while she ate, especially not when she ate brownies!) and she hummed softly.

When the fireworks started, she straightened up. Her father was right: they had a perfect view of the East River’s fireworks _and_ the Empire State Building’s light show. She clapped and fidgeted like a kid, not even bothering to maintain an adult’s reservation in front of the veteran. He probably viewed her as terribly naive anyway so she may as well express her enthusiasm.

A few minutes into the show, her phone buzzed and she glanced at it distractedly, grinning when she read her dad’s text:

_“So, great view or best view?”_

_“AwesoOome view! =D”_ She jumped on her feet and walked to the rail to take a selfie in front of blue pyrotechnics, beaming and flashing a peace sign. She sent it to her dad, hoping it would appease his guilt that he couldn’t be with her for the occasion.

She laughed self-consciously when she realized James was watching her curiously. “I’m sending a pic to my dad, to share the moment,” she explained. “Do you want me to take one for you? To send to Steve, maybe? By the way, where is your other friend, Sam?”

“With his family,” he answered shortly, staring at her phone like it was the devil. “I don’t think I should be on a photo.”

“Oh… ok, as you wish, but my phone is secured you know, it’s the best there is in security, Tony made sure of it and I know Steve has the same.” He seemed to hesitate and she added: “It’d make him happy if he knew you aren’t alone, don’t you think?”

“It’s his birthday,” he blurted out before blinking like he was surprised to have admitted so.

“Is it? Damn, to be stuck with politics for his birthday, that sucks! I hope dad bought him a nice birthday cake. Hold on, I’m totally sending them a pic of the brownie!” She did and added a caption: “ _Nothing can be as good as my homemade brownie, but I hope you had something worthy for your bday, Cap!”_ She smirked, glad she had thought about asking her dad for every Avengers’ phone number. She glanced at James. “Did you give him a present?”

He shifted uneasily and looked to the fireworks. “No.”

Darcy shook her phone in his line of sight. “I think that he would be glad to have a pic of you,” she repeated in a sing-song voice. A buzz from her phone diverted her attention and she chuckled. “Look what dad bought him!” She showed him the pic of a cake shaped and colored exactly like Cap’s shield. Half of it was already cut and they could see someone’s hand with a big piece in the corner – she’d bet on Thor.

James brusquely stood up and she watched him walked away uncertainly. When he turned to face her, leaning against the railing, crossing his arms and obviously posing, she beamed and quickly took several shots to be sure she had a good one. There was a big red firework at the perfect time. “Wait, wait! We need to take one together. Oh, and here, take some brownies, make him jealous of my baking!”

James indulged her. When she raised her phone to take the picture, he bit in the brownie with a smirk. Darcy laughed when she saw the result and sent it to Steve with the following caption: _“Don’t be jealous, but I think mine is better.”_

His answer took longer than what she was used to but she snorted and showed it to James with a pleased smile: “ _Looks like it. Thanks Miss Stark. Have a good Independence Day.”_

“Is he always so formal?” she asked.

“Yeah. Especially with a lady. He doesn’t know how to talk to them.”

“Well, at least he talks,” she sassed. “I’m still counting your words.”

The stare she received was calculating. “You’re not afraid.”

“Of you? Nah. You’re my official nutcracker, my cook assistant and jar opener. Furthermore, you like Agent Carver. We’re cool.”

“You threatened to taser me two days ago.”

“Well, yeah, but I promised Cap I’d taser him instead now…” James frowned and glowered at the fireworks. Darcy winced. She should have kept quiet about that. She wasn’t afraid per say, but he was still intimidating and she really didn’t want him in a bad mood. She fidgeted, looking for something to say and break the ice. They were listening to _I won’t let you go_ by Snow Patrol and the melody made her want to dance. She nudged James’ elbow. “I heard you were a great dancer, is that right?”

He blinked and glanced at her. “I was.”

She smiled impishly. “Want to dance? I’ll teach you modern dance and you’ll show me your moves. Dancing under the fireworks, it’s perfectly cliché, even better than brooding under the fireworks.”

He poked her belly. “I’m _not_ brooding.”

She tried to escape while giggling. “Of course not ; glowering at such a beautiful sight is how you express your appreciation.”

“It’s not. It’s…” He crossed his arms, his fingers contracting. “I feel... disconnected. I just…” He seemed to be frustrated with himself, as he tried to communicate and had difficulties to do so. “I wasn’t supposed to show what I felt. It didn’t mean that I _didn’t_ feel anything.”

Those two sentences seemed to cost him a lot and Darcy guessed she wouldn’t be hearing anything further on the matter. She didn’t need to, she understood what he was trying to say. “I get it.”

He looked dubious.

Darcy hesitantly patted his metal hand. “My step-father... when I cried, it annoyed him to no end so I learned to not cry, to not show what I felt around him, and that’s hard to unlearn.” It had been easier for her, she could express herself to her teachers, her friends or even her maid. She might have even compensated when she was beyond his gaze, being roughly honest in her teenage years. To be unable to express herself all the time… it was a grim thought. “But it doesn’t mean you don’t feel happy to be there with me, right?” She grinned, offering him a easy way to communicate by a yes or no answer.

He nodded slowly. “Right.”

She could work with this, knowing he had difficulties communicating rather than thinking he just was unhappy or annoyed with her. “Well, dancing doesn’t require talking,” she offered.

He straightened up and offered his hands in a silent answer. It took a few songs for him to loosen up and find his old reflexes but after that she was hard-pressed to follow.

“Damn, you have game!” She laughed brightly after he spun her and she found herself dizzy.

“I’m better at swing.”

“You should teach me then!” She immediately offered, beaming. “You’ll remember faster and I’ll learn, it’s win-win!”

He studied her cheerful smile, her red cheeks and her parted lips before looking away and nodding. “It’s an idea…”

Darcy got distracted by the following song. “Oh, I love this one!” She swung her head and sang along: _“My head is a jungle, jungle…”_ Raising her arms above her, she swayed. _“…trouble, understanding myself, understanding myself…”_

James stared at her, puzzled, though his eyes lingered on her swaying hips. “How do you dance this for two?”

Darcy patiently explained the concept of free movements and improvisation. When he felt uncertain, she turned her back to him, pulled him closer and put his hands on her waist. “Or you dance it like that, by keeping the rhythm…” He quickly matched her swaying hips. “There, like that. And after that, you improvise. When you’re so close, it’s more about mh…”

“… seduction?” he offered, whispering in her ear.

She cleared her throat lightly, acutely aware of the heat radiating from him and the blood rushing to her cheeks. “Yes, that.” James had as much instinct as technique because he had no trouble improvising even with little references. His hands went lower, his thumbs brushing her sides and she shivered slightly. She curved an arm backward to brush his hair. He nuzzled her ear.  

When he suddenly took a step back, she was bereft of his warmth but didn’t immediately try to get closer again. She turned around, expecting to see the stony expression she now knew meant he was trying to sort out his feelings and couldn’t express them, but he seemed more surprised than anything.

“Are you alright?” When he didn’t answer and looked away, she tilted her head to better see him. He was biting his bottom lip, too hard. “Hey.” She raised a hand, brush his chin to try to stop him for hurting himself. He caught her hand and pushed it away. “Okay, this is delicate territory, I get it, but don’t hurt yourself, ok? Just... your mouth, Nutcracker… please.” She gestured at her own mouth until he let go of his lips and licked small drops of blood away. “That’s better.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, wondering if she should just let it go. James shifted to look at her though, and his eyes fell on her mouth as he licked his. Now, if that wasn’t a blatant invitation in body language… “James? Do you… want to make out?” She was pretty proud of herself when she didn’t blushed because his stare was… intense.

He simply nodded, which puzzled her a bit until she realized she’d have to do all the work. She pulled on his collar, then put her arms around his neck to be able to kiss him comfortably. Her lips brushed his softly, stroking his abused skin before his jaw opened and the tips of their tongues touched slightly. That hesitant contact felt like a spark, waking up James. His hands went to her thighs and she suddenly found herself lifted in his arms as he kissed her enthusiastically.

It was short but intense. When they parted, Darcy looked down to a much calmer James, which wasn’t exactly what she was expecting. “Are you alright?” She repeated, a bit puzzled.

“Good. You?” His slow nod stopped as he started at her intently.

She felt like her reply was crucial. “Yeah, great, it was great,” she assured him quickly, licking her lips absent-mindedly. “Mh… Do you want more?”

His nose brushed her neck, nuzzled under her ear. She thought it mean yes, so she kissed his jaw, but he withdrew and let her go. “No, I… Thank you.”

“Okay. Mh… You’re welcome, I guess?” She felt awkward stopping just like that, so she tiptoed, kissed his cheek and took his right hand to lead him to their seats. “Do you want more brownie?” She wasn’t going to get worked up over this, she decided.  Going with the flow was easier.

 

 **Noon, 5** ** th** **of July**

Pepper and Darcy were having lunch in the most upscale restaurant of the tower. Darcy had put on a pant suit for the occasion, all white. If she hadn’t been in a good mood already, Pepper’s compliments on her appearance would have done the job. Her praise meant a lot.

“Tony mentioned your first meeting with Steve,” Pepper announced after they were done with their first course.

“Of course he did,” Darcy sighed. “I’m fine, Pepper, really.”

“I believe you,” Pepper replied calmly while breaking a bread roll. “I just want to make sure you’re aware we’ve the best doctors on call, therapists included. I’m quite satisfied with mine. Tony, of course, mostly ignores his and prefers to bother Bruce.”   

Darcy smirked. “Of course.” She played with her glass. “I guess… I should go and see one.”

Pepper caught her free hand and joined their fingers. “Jarvis can take an appointment for you.” She smiled softly at her before changing the subject like she knew Darcy needed: “On another note … would you like a party for you birthday?”

Darcy’s eyes widened. Her birthday was in twelve days. She wasn’t expecting anyone to remember it so ahead of time. “I… I was rather hoping for something more private?” She admitted, playing with her fork.

Pepper’s smile softened. “Just the three of us? We can certainly do that. I’d like that actually.”

Darcy smiled gratefully. She knew she could count on Pepper to stop Tony from organizing one of his wild parties. As much as he had calmed down these last years, it was still one of his first reactions: it’s important? Make it big! Darcy, however, had learned the value of small things and little acts of kindness and love from a young age. Her dad had taught her that.

She stared at her Iron Man red nails and thought back to the day she spent with Pepper a few weeks back. Even though she had managed to drag Jane out for girl’s days twice before, spending time with Pepper had been different. Intimidating at first and then… empowering. Tony had been a recurring subject for professional and personal reasons. After Pepper mentioned their relationship, it had been easier to ask her about herself. Now, Darcy knew that Pepper had wanted children when she started working but gave up on the idea as her work took most of her time and she had made her peace with that, especially once she discussed it with Tony after the Extremis fiasco and a second time when they discovered Darcy’s paternity. At the time, Pepper had joked about having already taken care of one child but her smile had looked like the illusion that Darcy was familiar with, the one she used when joking was easier than admitting you were missing something. Darcy took it for wishful thinking at first but today maybe she could admit that she wasn’t the only one who got something from their relationship.

Spearing her salad and digging in with gusto, Darcy offered: “So… Since I don’t have much work to do without Tony, do you need another pair of hands? I’m an excellent proofreader, organizer and science interpreter.”

 

Never let it be said that Pepper Potts went easy on her honorary daughter. Darcy really needed to watch out what she said in the future. That or she had to get the chairs in Pepper’s office changed.

She was groaning and rubbing her neck, her other hand on the small of her back, when the elevator stopped at the gym’s level to admit Bucky. She straightened up and smiled at him while he nodded and pushed the button for his floor.

He took a longer look and smirked slightly. “Looking good but tired. What’s wrong? Did I  work you too hard with the dancing last night?”

She blushed, glared and punched him lightly on his metal arm. “Aren’t you full of yourself? This isn’t you, it’s those stupid chairs, my boobs and them have a disagreement.”

His smirk widened. “Oh, really?”

She glared at him a little bit more but her lopsided smile widening betrayed her amusement. She finally rolled her eyes and changed the subject: “Did you sleep well?”

“Not bad. You?”

“Yes.” She glanced at his tense shoulders and adjusted her glasses on her nose mechanically. “Do you want to bake something?”

He snorted. “Need hazelnuts again?”

“Well, I was thinking more about walnuts this time, for variation. My nutcracker needs a challenge.”

He gave her a small lopsided smile and nodded. Darcy asked Jarvis to change their destination for the common floor. Bucky took out a phone from his pocket and rolled his eyes at the screen. “Steve. Fifth message of the day,” he said as explanation.

She smirked. “Dad sent me three, including one to see if you behaved.”

“I’m perfectly well behaved.” He responded stiffly. She was worried for a moment, until a small uplift of his lips betrayed it as a joke.

She snorted and elbowed him softly. “Absolutely. Let’s just keep the details to ourselves.” She raised an open hand. When Bucky stared at it, uncomprehending, she chuckled and explained the principle of high-fives.

 

They were watching Agent Carver again when Sam Wilson appeared.

“My sister loves this show,” he commented, leaning against the back of the couch. Bucky had stared at him when he came out of the elevator, but he was now looking at Betty Carver kicking ass with intense focus. He didn’t say a word and Sam didn’t seem to expect him to.

“Your sister has good taste,” Darcy replied, looking up from her cupcake and staring appraisingly at this fine example of Avengers-and-friends-are-prettier-than-thou. His black leather jacket fit him well. She grabbed a pastry from the platter she had put together and offered it to him. “Cupcake?”

“Don’t mind if I do… Obviously I didn’t eat enough at the family meal yesterday,” he said jokingly before taking a bite and sitting down next to Bucky– but leaving him a wide space. “And you guys, how was your 4th of July?”

“Well, let’s see, in five words: nuts, brownie, Betty Carver, fireworks and… dance.”

“That’s six,” Bucky commented.

“You little shit,” Darcy grumbled and glared at him, snorting when he smirked without looking at her

Sam looked at them with amusement. “I take it you became friends. And to think Steve felt guilty about leaving you alone..."

“The punk needs to chill out,” Bucky replied before finishing his cupcake.

Sam raised an eyebrow and Darcy quickly looked away with a smirk. She couldn’t think of anything better than being a bad influence with a good cause for one James Buchanan Barnes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, obviously, the difficulty here was Bucky. It's not easy writing him post Winter Soldier, really, and people have different point of view about the consequences on his character. Here, I tried to explain mine: Bucky has difficulties to express himself, which is a hint that his mind is clear (most of the time) but he’s socially awkward. I’ll probably add more on this in the coming chapters but since it’s Darcy POV, it’s hard to describe it when Bucky can’t express it.


	7. My dad gives me the best present ever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for depiction of a panic attack in the second half of this (longer) chapter.
> 
> Big thanks for all your support! Even if I don't reply to every comment, I really appreciate them and all the kudos I received recently. ♥

**Ten days later – 14** ** th ** **of July 2014**

“Miss Lewis?”

Darcy looked up from her tablet and stood. “Happy! Hi! Are you my driver?”

They hadn’t seen each other in years – since the settling of Stane’s assets – but Happy Hogan hadn’t changed much. He shook her hand enthusiastically with a wide grin. “I am! As a matter of fact, I’m also your bodyguard from now on.”

“My… I have a bodyguard?”

“You do now.” After a glance around them to make sure the lobby was clear of threats, he showed her the way to the garage with a gesture. Once they were alone in the elevator, he explained: “The boss called, told me everything and asked me a favor. I wasn’t supposed to take this job, you see. I was managing security in Los Angeles until recently but my wife always dreamed of living in NY.” He showed her his wedding band proudly.

“Oh, congratulations!”

“Thank you. She’s a nurse. We met after I got a bit... messed up with that Mandarin business.”

“I heard about that. I’m glad you’re okay Happy.”

“Thanks. Yeah, I’m good, really happy. I asked to be transferred here, then the boss called.” Happy looked at her intently. “I guess I can see it. God, it’s really fucked up what Stane did. Never liked that guy much but this is pushing it.” She smiled slightly and he put a hand under her elbow when he noticed her unease. “You’ve always been a great girl. A lot of folks would say they’re hardly surprised that Mr. Stark unknowingly fathered a child. I’m just glad you’re good people. Having you and Ms. Potts as family will do him a lot of good.”

She chuckled and gave him a more genuine smile. He stepped out of the elevator first when they reached their floor. She stopped two steps in. “This is… Tony’s personal garage?”

“Of course! You didn’t think he’d let you take one of the company’s cars, did you? You can pick whichever one you want, which, let me tell you, is a first.”

Darcy stared at the luxurious cars, a bit flummoxed, and spread her hands. “Uh… One that doesn’t say ‘look at me, I’m a billionaire’?” Hands in his pockets, Happy spun around, looking for something that met her criteria with a skeptical look. She snorted. “One environment-friendly?”

Happy immediately raised a finger with a pleased look. “That, I have. A Porsche 918 Spyder!” He pointed at a sport car.

“No.”

For a second, she thought he was going to pout, but he only sighed and turned to a more classic car. “A Tesla Model S?”

“Perfect.” Pleased, she patted his forearm on the way.

“Are you sure Ms Potts isn’t your biological mother?”

She laughed happily as she took a seat in the rear. Being driven around as though she was a Very Important Person was weird, but she found herself enjoying it. “So, why do I need a personal bodyguard again?”

“Although your relationship isn’t public yet, you’re his assistant as well as being friends with the Avengers. You’re very likely to be picked out as an easy target. With as important as you are to him, did you expect anything else, Miss Lewis?”

“Happy, I leave the Tower something like… once a week at most, twice if I’m tagging along with Tony to some function or another. You’re going to be bored.”

“Well, to be honest, it’s one of the reasons I accepted. My wife, she’s pregnant you see. Light hours are perfect.”

“That’s so great! Uber congratulations, dude!”

“Thanks. The boss told me you’re much calmer than he is.”

“Yeah, you don’t have to worry about all-nighters with me. I like my nine hours of sleep.”

“And I appreciate it.”

 

Parking in NYC was a pain and it took two long minutes for Darcy to convince Happy that he could drop her right in front of the tailor’s door and no one would grab her in the few steps it’d take her to step inside.

The shop’s air conditioner was turned up far too high and everyone inside was wearing long sleeves. Darcy, however, had chosen her clothes with the weather in mind, like the naive girl she was, and her bare arms were quickly covered in goose bumps. She could hear several people talking in the back room, but there was one customer at the bar (yes, there was a bar in a tailor’s shop, it was Tony Stark’s tailor, Darcy wasn’t even shocked). When the man at the bar looked up to assess the new arrival, she was surprised to recognize him.

“Mr Specter.”

To his credit, it only took the lawyer a few seconds to remember her. “Miss Lewis. How are you?” He stood up to shake her hand.

“Fine, thank you.”

A man in a pinstripe suit walked out of the backroom. He stared at her and her outfit intensely, only smiling once he recognized her dress as designer (Pepper’s selection, obviously). “Welcome. I’m René, how can I help you?”

“I’m here for Mr Stark’s order.”

The tailor bobbed his head in agreement and walked away while Specter stared at her and cocked his head in curiosity. “You work for Tony?”

“Yes, I’ve been his assistant for a few months now.”

Specter narrowed his eyes at her as though puzzling something out. “Interesting.”

Darcy smiled slightly. “Things have an interesting way of turning out when Tony Stark is involved.”

“Indeed. When I met with Tony a month ago, he didn’t mentionyou, only that he wanted to modify his will.”

“Is that so?” Darcy was saved from saying anything more when the door opened to let Happy in. The bodyguard nodded politely at Specter, who nodded back. They knew each other. Specter stared hard at Darcy. Soon, his eyes widened as though he had just been given the answer to life, the universe and everything.

Time to divert attention, she decided. “Happy, it’s cold in here, isn’t it?”

“I’m alright, Miss. Do you want my jacket?”

Happy was so perfectly reliable, Darcy thought as she gladly accepted and put on the way too big jacket. She played with the long sleeves and slipped her childlike mask into place. A task easily accomplished given that she still was one at heart.

René chose that moment to return and stared down his nose in disapproval but her target wasn’t fooled. She should have guessed so: Specter was way too smart to fall for her ploy. He was sipping from his glass, staring at her thoughtfully.

Darcy listened to René’s instructions and took the wrapped suits carefully. They were about to leave when a young blond man stepped out of the backroom. He was buttoning his shirt as he spoke: “Geez, it’s cold in here.” He stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of Darcy and cleared his throat before saying: “Mh. Good afternoon?”  

Darcy snickered, especially after seeing Specter roll his eyes. “Good afternoon. It looks like you’ve your own protégé, Mr Specter.”

The lawyer sighed and made introductions: “This is my associate, Mike Ross. Mike, this is Tony Stark’s assistant, Darcy Lewis.” As they shook hands, Mike blinked and glanced at his boss, a bit wide-eyed. Specter tilted his head. “Yes, Tony Stark is my client.”

“Oh, ok, that’s… cool.” He looked around, as if Tony was going to appear from behind the couch.

“Sorry, Mr Stark is playing with his Avengers friends today, it’s only me,” Darcy said, amused.

“Pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise.” She leaned forward to whisper; “And I agree, it’s _freezing_ in here.”

He smiled more openly as Darcy took her leave.

Once in the car and on to the next errand of the day, Darcy sent a text to her father: “ _Your lawyer is way too smart for my peace of mind._ ”

Tony called a few minutes later. “Do I need to kick Harvey’s ass?” He asked immediately.

“No,” she protested while chuckling. “I just met him at the tailor. He knows I’m your assistant and he mentioned you changed your will. I don’t know what you changed in it exactly, but…”

“I included you. Not by name. I just added a paragraph about my biological daughter. You wouldn’t believe the smirk he had, the smartass.”

“So, he knows.”

“Well, he’s not an idiot.”

“I noticed,” Darcy sighed while looking out of the window.

“What’s wrong, dumpling? You can trust Harvey.”

“I do if you do, but I just… I don’t know, it’s still a bit weird I guess, I’m used to keeping it a secret.” She shook her head. “I just need to accept it’ll be public one day.”

“I told you dumpling, we’re going at your speed.”

“Thanks dad, you’re the best.” She straightened up a little and smiled. “So, did you strangle Captain America yet?”

Tony snorted. “I wish. You know me kiddo, this team stuff is not my thing, but I guess we’re not doing _too_ badly. Cap stopped growling at us after the second day anyway. Thank god it’s the end though, more than one week of forced togetherness with this crew would officially drive me crazy.”

Darcy smirked. “Newsflash dad: you’re already there.”

“Oh, is that so?” A sudden impact noise sounded out. “Fuck, Barton, what the hell? … Urgh. Ok, fine, I’m coming! Geez, sorry dumpling, got to go.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow dad! I miss you.”

“Same, kiddo. I’ll take care of Specter, don’t worry about it.”

Darcy hung up with a soft smile.

“I’m surprised you didn’t protest having a bodyguard,” Happy commented when they left the car.

She shrugged, hands in her pockets. “I’m not used to being pampered yet. I’ll take it, for now.” She poked him. “And he was smart enough to choose you. That counts for something.”

**17** ** th ** **of July 2014**

Darcy had the day off for her birthday. She woke at ten, glared blearily at the clock and burrowed a little deeper into her pillow. Some minutes later, mouth-watering smells caught her attention. She opened her eyes slowly and saw her father bringing in a tray loaded with breakfast goodies. “Dad, what are you doing here?” she asked, her voice husky with sleep.

Tony grinned. “Happy birthday dumpling! I made you breakfast!”

Jarvis added: “I made an exception to your request of privacy, I believe the surprise worth it. Happy Birthday Darcy.”

Pushing her hair away from her face, Darcy straightened up and glanced at the tray beside her with surprise. There were pancakes, no, even better, chocolate chip pancakes! “Definitely worth it. You cook?”

Tony sat against the headboard and shrugged. “A few basics. I know how to follow a recipe.” He took his coffee mug, grabbed a fork and ate the first pancake covered in syrup. Darcy  quickly grabbed the second fork to defend her meal.

After a while, Tony left the battle for pancakes and she looked up to see him staring at her nightstand. She swallowed her mouthful when she saw what had caught his attention.

“You still have it,” Tony said, carefully taking the little object on display.

“Of course I do,” Darcy replied, cutting a new piece of pancake. “It was the first gift you ever gave me.”

The dragonfly’s wings beat and the little robot hovered above Tony’s hand. “It’s still working, after… what… sixteen years?” He said with a little bit of awe.

“I took good care of it.” Now he was staring at her intently so she felt obliged to add: “I… I play with it basically every night before going to sleep. I had to change the battery a few times. The first time, I was super worried I would damage it. I was at boarding school and I cursed at the supervisor when she interrupted me. Got a detention for it.”

“Aww, my little rebel.”

She stuck her tongue at him and ate the last pancake.

He chuckled, put the dragonfly back in its place and tousled Darcy’s hair with affection. Since he had come back from his training trip, he had been quieter and more relaxed. From what Darcy had been able to gather, he and Steve had had a Serious Talk, like Adults (when she’d told him how proud she was, he had chucked a pillow at her head: you can’t expect too much maturity from a Stark, obviously). There had been mention of Howard Stark apparently and something about his less than stellar parenting. Darcy wasn’t sure of the details, but Tony was less troubled and that was all that mattered. She didn’t have to kick Captain America in the balls again anyway, which was cool.

  

Darcy had a really good day. After breakfast with her dad, Thor, Jane and Erik took her out for lunch. Then Thor had asked to take a walk in Central Park and Darcy had decked him out with a wide cowboy hat and sunglasses to keep the risk of him getting recognized to a minimum. The photos she had on her phone were _priceless_. Thor rocked the cowboy style and he loved that hat. Of course she had to explain what a cowboy was and now they had a movie date with westerns to plan. Darcy knew he was going to love them and she’d take an overdose of John Wayne and Gary Cooper for a good cause any day.

Then Clint caught her when she came back. He hugged her tightly before disappearing just as quickly, leaving a little box in her hands. She opened it and found the cutest kitten earrings she had ever seen inside. She put them on immediately, asking Jarvis to convey her thanks. She’d hug the hell out of the archer later, when he wasn’t expecting it anymore.

And then, there was an unexpected delivery of flowers in her rooms, with a card saying “Happy birthday sweetheart – Nutcracker (& Steve)”. Once again she had to count on Jarvis to thank them but she was grinning widely.

She didn’t remember ever being so spoiled for a birthday.

 

As promised, Pepper had organized a small private dinner in the penthouse. A chef had been there earlier to prepare their food and a cold buffet was waiting for them on the table. Darcy had sat on Tony’s lap to stop him from picking at the food before Rhodey arrived. When he did, Darcy jumped over Pepper’s feet to run at him.

“Where’s the birthday girl? Here she is! Hi!”

“Hiii!”

Facing each other, arms open, Rhodey and Darcy burst into laughter before hugging each other.

“Alright, hold on, what did I miss? Since when are you buddies?” Tony pointed at them, squinting at them suspiciously.

“Since I gave her my number and told her to text and call me whenever she wanted,” Rhodey explained with a shrug. “I was spoiled of the opportunity to be the cool uncle. You think I was going to let it go? Not a chance.”

“What could you talk about?”

“I whine about you all day long, of course,” Darcy replied jokingly.

Tony put an arm around his daughter’s waist and led her to the table, away from Rhodey, while he glared at him. “You’ll be a bad influence. I strip from you the title uncle, you’re not worthy.”

“Too late!” Rhodey laughed at him and hugged Pepper.

The meal was spent in good humor, sharing stories and anecdotes. Darcy had never been so glad she was raised in the same social circle as Tony: she knew enough to be able to participate in the conversation without any awkwardness. Anything that went over her head was easily explained. In a similar manner, she had to go over some of her work with Jane so they could fully appreciate the hijinks involved in living with an astrophysicist.

This easy bonding took an abrupt turn at the end of the dessert, when mentioning Thor led to the Avengers and the Avengers meant political talks. Rhodey entered in a debate with Tony and Pepper about the role of the new Stark security division. At first it was good-natured and Darcy took it in stride, listening intently to learn more about the intricacy of privatizing the Avengers (which was the core of the problem). She asked a few questions but kept mostly quiet, following the movement when they left the table for the couch.

But Tony got louder as he poured himself and Rhodey some whiskey.

Darcy sat at the far end of the couch, hands on her knees, fingers tensed, feeling choked up and staring nervously at the glasses of alcohol. They weren’t looking at her, Pepper and Rhodey’s backs were to her while Tony was focused on them. Darcy tried to breathe deeper and push away her anxiety. She rubbed her hands against her pants.

“Sir,” Jarvis suddenly called.

The conversation stopped and Tony frowned. “What, Jarvis?”

“I’m sorry to interrupt Sir, but this is your ‘I’m fucking up’ alarm.”

“What?” Rhodey said, bemused. Pepper looked just as baffled.

Tony, though, immediately looked at Darcy and observed the telltale signs. “Dumpling, didn’t we agree you should talk to me when something is wrong?”

Embarrassed to no end, Darcy blushed and stared at her hands as Pepper and Rhodey turned to look at her with worry. Darcy admitted: “I… don’t feel comfortable with you drinking when you’re… agitated.”

They understood immediately what she wasn’t saying, of course. She was expecting pity but they were more pissed – and not at her – than anything else.

Tony readily nodded, said “Okay” and, even though he winced, threw the whisky away. Rhodey did the same without a word. “This discussion is _not_ over Rhodes, but we’ve already blundered enough, let’s come back to the subject of this party!” Tony announced enthusiastically. “Presents!” He raised his arms to the ceiling. Darcy chuckled and relaxed. “Pepper and Rhodey’s presents first, of course, or they’ll be outshined by mine!”

They all rolled their eyes but smiled.

Pepper gave Darcy a big flat carton box – and if her touch lingered on her honorary daughter’s shoulder, no-one commented. The present was shoes, gorgeous little boots that Darcy wouldn’t be able to wear before autumn but it didn’t matter: they were damn cute.

As for Rhodey… Darcy really didn’t know what to expect from him. They had talked about music, films and series TV a bit so, maybe… but the package seemed to protect clothes. When she unfolded a [hoodie to discover an Iron Patriot design](http://barongraphics.deviantart.com/art/Iron-Patriot-War-Machine-ZipperHoodie-451293799), she gaped openly. “Oh my god! This is the best piece of my collection!” She squealed, putting it on hastily. “How do I look?” She asked as she turned around.

“Silly,” Tony answered, deadpan. “But I’m sure Cap will appreciate it. Iron Patriot, what a bunch of crap. What was wrong with War Machine?”

Too pleased with himself to care for Tony’s grumpy attitude, Rhodey grinned wider. “Don’t worry, I’ve the War Machine design too. It’s out of stock but I’m pulling a few strings, I should have one in your size for next time, kiddo.”

“Yeehah! Best uncle ever!” Darcy hugged him tightly before stumbling in her dad’s arms. “Don’t worry about it daddy! I’ll put a Iron Man shirt under, like I’m Iron Patriot if I’m cold and Iron Man if I’m warm! See? Perfect.” She patted his cheek until he stopped pouting. “Now, I was promised more, right?”

Tony clapped his hands. “Right! My turn.” He took a deep breath and for a moment he looked slightly apprehensive. “This way.” He led them to his private workshop, which Darcy found a little worrying but Rhodey and Pepper seemed unsurprised.

Tony led his daughter by the hand to a panel. He stepped in front of her, looking for words before speaking: “A year ago, I only had one thing on my mind.” He glanced at Pepper. “I was in a frenzy, creating suits to chase the urge to drink and the nightmares away. I had dozens of them and I made the decision to destroy them, to stop the obsession, to get better.”

Darcy frowned. That was new to her. However, she knew that Tony had at least one active Iron Man suit. She wisely kept quiet though, it wasn’t every day that Tony Stark opened his heart so freely, and he looked like it was costing him dear to say these words.

“But the thing is that, even if _I_ feel better, there are still risks out there, and the idea that the people who matter to me might be hurt… it kills me. A few months ago, I had only Pepper… well… there’s Rhodey, but you know what I mean…” Rhodey snorted and nodded indulgently. Tony relaxed and stared into Darcy’s eyes. “You’re here now and I’m damn glad you are, don’t get me wrong, but being around me is not… safe. And the idea something could happen to you makes me sick. So… this is for you.”

The panel slid open as he took a step aside and she blinked at its contents before doing a double take. “Holy shit,” she hissed, “you’re kidding, right?”

“No, this is yours. Just like this is Pepper’s.” Tony waved at an opening panel just beside the first one. “We can change the colors if you want.”

Before Darcy’s wide eyes, two armored suits were standing: one was purple and gold – hers– the other was red and silver – Pepper’s. She was too flabbergasted to say anything.

Tony instantly filled the silence: “They’re based on the same models, focused on protection: fast, evasive, highly maneuverable, extra resistant, with a stealth mode, and Jarvis is interfaced of course. Dumpling, say something.”

Darcy slowly looked at him, still gaping, and dutifully said something: “ _Holy shit!_ ” Rhodey laughed behind his hand. Pepper smiled amusedly and put a hand on Darcy’s shoulder, squeezing it softly. Darcy turned to her. “Did you…?”

“Yes,” Pepper replied calmly. “Tony offered the idea at last Christmas and I agreed, at least to appease him. I only used it once, several months ago, to know how to operate it.” She hesitated slightly. “Maybe, if you’ve one too, I’ll be more willing to use my own.”

Darcy looked back at _her_ suit and hesitated slightly. “Is it too late to mention that I might be just a little tiny bit claustrophobic?”

“There are security measures. You won’t be stuck inside, no matter what,” Tony assured her quickly.

“It doesn’t really feel constricting,” Pepper offered helpfully, “at least because these are at our own measurements. I used one of Tony’s before, and _that_ was very stifling, you can imagine.” She put a hand on her cleavage in a discreet explanation and Darcy tilted her head in understanding.

“The headpiece comes last and the HUD is instantaneous. From there, you easily forget you’re in a closed space,” Rhodey added.

“Ok,” Darcy mumbled, slowly eyeing her gift with more admiration than disbelief or apprehension. “Oh my Thor, I’ve my own suit!” She jumped up and down before rushing to observe it up close, mumbling questions and answers to herself as she deduced how it work with a look of wonder.

“Oy, kiddo, we’ll talk about the technical details later if you want…”

“Really?” She asked hopefully.

“Yeah,” Tony assured, smiling softly at her fascination for his work, “but for now, don’t you want to try your birthday gift?”

Darcy freeze, her hands on the hips of the armor, and looked up to the gold faceplate. She licked her lips, hesitant.

“Let me show you,” Pepper offered. She was in shorts and sandals and she stepped in her open suit calmly, letting it close around her without a blink. The faceplate came last, as mentioned.

Darcy’s suit opened for her and she breathed in to calm her nerves before taking off her heels. She had wanted to look good for her birthday but Pepper had instructed her to choose pants (she had mentioned games that Tony wanted to play). She was still wearing her hoodie and she briefly closed her fingers around the long sleeves for courage. She stepped in the suit warily and watched avidly as the suit closed around her. Pepper was right, it didn’t feel oppressive, it fit perfectly and the padding was comfortable. When the faceplate was the only thing left to close, she heard Jarvis’ voice in her ear: “Darcy, are you ready?” She breathed in one last time and nodded: “Yeah.” The faceplate slid down.

She barely saw any darkness before the HUD appeared, showing her the expectant faces of her dad and Rhodey. When data started to pop up on the sides, full of fascinating details, she squeaked: “Oh sweet Lady Frigga, this is _awesome_!” She raised her hands in her enthusiasm and found it so easy that she waved her arms around. Then she tried to walk at the same time and would have face-planted if it hadn’t been for Pepper. Euphoric, she couldn’t be embarrassed by this little misstep, she walked around, familiarizing herself with moving the suit while she played with the HUD, babbling to Jarvis and aww-ing to her discoveries.

Next thing she knew, Tony was calling her and she turned around to see Iron Man, Iron Patriot and Pepper’s suit, faceplates up, waiting for her with amused smiles.

“Want to get this thing flying, Dee?” Rhodey offered.

Darcy squeaked and opened her faceplate. “What if I panic, lose control and plummet to my death?”

“I won’t let that happen,” Jarvis immediately answered at the time as Tony announced: “Jarvis has remote control of the suits.”

“Oh,” Darcy breathed, pacified, “ok, I trust my little brother. What are we waiting for, then?” She walked to them, a bit clumsily and loudly.

They smiled indulgently and showed her the way. showed her the way to the landing pad. Rhodey and Pepper took off first, Pepper acclimating herself to her suit once again.

Tony stayed beside his daughter and patiently advised her on the way to hold herself, keeping her hands in his as she hovered a few inches above the ground first to get the hang of it. She laughed as he told her of his first try in his garage, getting thrust to the ceiling. He told her to stop looking at her feet and she did. That’s when she realized that, while Tony hadn’t let go of her hands, they had both been rising higher and higher. When she saw how far off the ground she was, she laughed, a bit frenzied, and noted: “Holy hell, I’m flying!”

“You haven’t seen anything yet, dumpling. Want to see the sun set on the ocean? Come on!”

It was late evening. The sun was very low on New York. Four points of light flew away.

Darcy laughed happily above the Atlantic. She dived until she nearly brushed the waves then came up spinning.

Tony hadn’t lied: Pepper’s suit and hers were faster than Iron Man and Iron Patriot, probably because they were much lighter, with less weaponry. Darcy easily beat them in a race and had to coax Pepper to race her next. It was a tie.

“Having fun, kiddo?”

“You bet, dad!” She had fun doing all the acrobatics she could think of while they waited for the boys to catch up. At the end of a loop, she finally took a moment to appreciate the sunset, with its red and gold colors licking the sea. In a corner of her HUD, she was informed of her family hovering around her. She hummed and wondered: “Say… Shouldn’t Pepper’s armor and mine have names?”  

“You probably should go with Iron as first word, to keep the theme,” Rhodey noted with a hint of derision – his change of nickname still left him bereft, it seemed.

“Iron Lady and Iron Maiden,” Tony offered.

Darcy snorted and Pepper sighed. “Please. Considering the only reason I’d put on this armor, you should call me Rescue.”

“Iron Rescue, that’s cool,” Darcy approved as she tinkered with her suit controls. “What’s that thing?” She muttered right before triggering it. A spark came from her gauntlet. “Holy shit, dad, you included a taser in my suit!” Her shout was pure glee.

“Of course I did,” Tony said, sounding matter-of-fact.

Darcy laughed. “This is the best thing ever! I’m flying and I can create electroshocks. When I’ll tell Thor about this, he’ll finally have a good reason to call me shield-sister!”

“That should be your name, Iron Shock,” Rhodey teased her.

“I love it! It’s like, basically the only thing I can do anyway, right? That and the repulsors.”

“Yeah. We can do modifications if you want,” Tony offered, “but I wanted to focus on the flight part rather than fight.”

“That’s fine by me. Kick them in the balls and flee is my motto!”

As Tony snorted, Rhodey said: “Yeah, about that. What’s that I heard about kneeing Captain America, kiddo?”

Darcy groaned. “This is going to follow me forever and ever, isn’t it?”

They flew back to the tower teasing each other. Best birthday and best family trip ever, Darcy thought as her HUD highlighted the presence of her precious ones.

When Darcy stepped out of her suit, a little clumsily, Tony was here to keep her steady. She put her arms around his neck and held on tightly, her face in his neck. “Thank you so much, dad.”

 He patted her back. “I’ve a condition.”

“What is it?”    

“Keep it close. Pepper takes it with her when she goes in a trip, in a briefcase. I want you to do the same thing. I want you safe, anytime, anywhere.”

She stepped back enough to see his deadly serious face. Pepper’s words (“I agreed, at least to appease him”) came back to mind and she nodded. This suit was more than a birthday gift. She may have had fun with it tonight but it wasn’t a toy. It was a bodyguard, the second line of defense in Tony’s plan to protect his daughter.

“It’s not safe being a Stark,” he whispered as he cupped her head between his hands.

She smiled softly. “The best things all have a price. I’m willing to pay this one.” She closed her eyes as he kissed her forehead.

It was worth it.

**26** ** th ** **of July**

Her Nutcracker was monopolized by Rogers and Wilson. That was fine: Bucky and she were friends but he was a very high maintenance friend and doing the conversation all by herself was harder than it looked, even with years of training by Jane’s side (Jane never _stared_ , she ignored her mostly, which was less creepy).

She was missing her cooking assistant a little bit though (he was good to mix batter). Maybe that’s why she was baking in the common kitchen rather than in her apartment.  She had promised pie to her dad – to be precise, her dad had refused to eat until she offered to cook him something, _anything_. Couldn’t he just admit he wanted to try her cooking? By Odin, he was a bit ridiculous sometimes.

She put the pie in the oven, closed the door, turned around and startled, cursing profusely with a hand on her heart. “Seriously?” She glared at the Black Widow.

Romanoff didn’t bother to appear contrite by her sneak approach. Sitting on a kitchen stool like she had been here from the start and they were talking like best friends, she immediately tackled the subject: “Are you still angry?”

“I see Clint has been talking,” Darcy grumbled, cleaning her work surface. It was useless to pretend she didn’t know exactly what they were talking about. Darcy had talked to every Avenger except for the Black Widow. Apparently, Romanoff was done with her evasion strategy.

“Even if he hadn’t, your body language is easy to read.”

Darcy sighed. “I’m not really angry anymore, just… frustrated. I know you didn’t do it on purpose to endanger anyone’s privacy but…” She shrugged. Resentment wasn’t always rational.

“There are things we do to protect ourselves and those closest to us. Things that sometimes may hurt innocent people. It’s something we have to live with.”

Darcy finally glanced at her and her stone-faced expression. “And how do you manage to live with that?”

Romanoff shrugged. “I do my best to make it up to them and I stay on course. I know what I want to fight for.”

Darcy hummed. “Yeah, well, I don’t envy you. You can keep your title of BadAss Lady of the Year.”

“You’re not interested in following your father’s footsteps?”

Darcy snorted. “Me? Please. My super-power is to be underestimated just long enough to knock a guy out and run.” Iron Shock didn’t change things much; with it she just had a better chance to knock out someone and get away unscathed.

“That’s a good ability to have.”

“Yeah. I guess you often used that one, right?"

“Yes, but it has its limits.” Natasha played with a knife before handing it over for washing. “James Barnes is unstable.”

Darcy looked up from the spatula she was licking and raised an eyebrow in question: “Your point is?”

“You took a risk while we were gone.”

Darcy sighed. “Life is a succession of risks,” she replied succinctly.

“Not all of them are potentially deadly.”

A lot of answers came to mind, but Darcy figured she had nothing to prove to a gal she  had been pissed at until an unspoken truce minutes ago. She raised the eyebrow again.

Natasha shrugged. “Just be careful.” And she walked away.

Darcy blinked and turned back to her oven. “Shit… how many minutes ago did I put that in to bake?”

 

 Of course, this innocent conversation hid a bigger threat named “how to train the civilian to defend herself”. In the first role, Natasha had cast Clint.

“I’m just saying. Being Stark’s daughter makes you a target and your taser might not be enough…” He insisted the day after, following her in the elevator.

“I don’t need to learn how to use guns, Clint,” Darcy repeated sharply.

Something in her tone of voice and her choice of words caught the marksman’s attention. He watched her attentively. “Why?” He tilted his head and leaned forward. “Because you already know how?”

Darcy fidgeted and stared at the floors’ number. “I was raised to create weapons. What do you think?”

Clint moved in front of her, forcing her to look at him. “Is it a trigger?”

“Yes. Probably. I-I don’t know,” she stammered, uncertain: she hated guns, she stayed away from them, that was all she ever needed to know until now.

“Darcy, if you freeze in the middle of a fight…”

“I know.”

“Do you?” He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. “Come on then, we’re going to the shooting range.”

She breathed in sharply and whined in a small voice: “Clint…”

“I’ll be there, kitten. I won’t leave you alone and if it’s too much I’ll get you out, but you need to face it.”

Shifting her weight from one leg to the other she fidgeted anxiously but didn’t protest. She knew facing it now was the best option. It didn’t mean she wasn’t becoming increasingly distressed. Clint opened his arms and she immediately nestled against him, hiding her face in his neck and squeezing his hand tightly.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He offered.

She shrugged. “There’s not much to tell. He first put a gun in my hand when I was seven. I was terrified of it and I hated it. I begged him several times to let me stop but he never listened.”

“What did you hate?”

“The noise, the recoil, the impact, the odor, the shooting range, the stupid people at the shooting range, the way Stane looked with guns in proximity… everything. Stane thought it would be better if he bought me a pink rifle.” She snorted and shook her head. “I just fucking hate fuchsia now. Stupid people ruining a perfectly nice color.”

“Okay. Don’t worry, there are no pink guns anywhere in our shooting range.”

They exchanged a small smile. Clint led her out of the elevator and to his territory with a comforting hand on the small of her back. She was profoundly grateful to find the place empty. Breathing heavily, her hands moist and shaking, she didn’t need any more witness to what was certainly going to be a disaster.

She rubbed her hands against her jeans as Clint looked through the armory.

“Alright, let’s start easy with a 9mm.”

Darcy mechanically went through the motions of equipping herself with earplugs and earmuffs. In a haze, she stepped forward and, under Clint’s watchful gaze, took the pistol, keeping it pointed down and away. She checked the safety, loaded the munitions, pointed it at the target, adjusted her stance, took aim, removed the safety and fired.

She went through the same motions, again and again, as Clint put different guns in front of her.

Then there were no more guns, but she was still looking to the target. Clint took her earmuffs off and the earplugs, he put them on the side, took her by the hands and led her outside. He was speaking softly: “It’s fine kitten, it’s over. You did really well.”

The lighting in the hallway was softer, the walls and floors had a little more colors, but she felt cold. She snuggled against Clint and hid in his neck while she held onto his T-shirt. She sniffed. “You smell.” She sniffed her hands. “I smell.” She rubbed her skin insistently but realized the scent wasn’t going to vanish like that and rubbed her hands against her jean instead.

“–cy. Darcy! Kitten, stop.” Clint grabbed her wrists and held her hands firmly.

“I can’t, they smell. I don’t like this smell, Clint.”

“I know kitten, I know. You’re going to wash your hands soon, okay?”

“Yeah, but you smell too.” She wrinkled her nose and took a step back. She would do without his warmth if it meant she could escape this odor of gunpowder and metal. But it was still there, she couldn’t get away from it. Breathing less would help, she decided, shortening her respiration.

“No, nonono, kitten, don’t do that. Breathe with me!”

Darcy didn’t hear the running footsteps of Thor as he came from the gym, alerted by Jarvis of the situation. She barely heard him speak with Clint but she felt one arm going around her waist and a hand guiding her head to his neck. That’s when she instinctually recognized him. He smelled… good, like just-out-of-the-shower good. She breathed deeper and nuzzled closer to the source, glad to find more warmth (and oxygen while she was at it) there. When she felt suddenly weightless, lifted in strong arms, she decided Thor was good. Thor was safe.

“Yes, you’re safe my Lady. I’m taking you to your rooms.”

“’Kay,” she replied agreeably. Whatever he wanted. She was just going to stay like a limpet in his arms and get high with his body odor… Ah! Jane’ll mock her so much for this, but whatever, she shouldn’t let her personal god wandered unsupervised, weak girls like Darcy were bound to take advantage.

She didn’t remember the trip to her apartment. Thor put her down next to the kitchen sink, where he proceeded to wash her hands thoroughly. Her soap smelled like lavender. She sniffed her hands afterwards and nodded approvingly. Clint was a few steps away. She narrowed her eyes at him. “You still smell.”

He smiled weakly. “I’m going to shower. How do you feel? Can I leave you with Thor?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, kitten, I was ready for worse, you’re doing fine.” He visibly stopped himself from touching her (with his filthy hands). “We’ll talk when I come back, okay? Thor’s going to look after you.”

She nodded slightly and Thor led her to the couch. He arranged her on his lap. She went with it gratefully, nestling against him and relaxing slowly as she breathed in. His large hands stroked her back in slow rhythmic moves. She felt good… until: “Oh Jesus, I can’t. This fucking smell! I need to shower. It clings to me, it’s fucking everywhere.”

Thor helped her to stand and followed her calmly. “What smell, my lady?”

“Gunpowder. It’s everywhere.”

“You’ve an aversion for guns?”

“Guns are the invention of the devil, Thor. Guns are products of Satan,” she mumbled. “I can’t touch my clothes. Can you just choose a shirt, or something, pajamas, whatever, please?”

She stepped into the shower fully clothed and waited until she was soaked through to shed them. After rinsing away the offending odors and replacing them with her favorite orchid and juniper soaps, she felt more human. The chilly water revived her, but left her shaking even as she dried herself. She shimmied in the Hawkeye pajamas left on her bed and called: “Thor? I’m not feeling so good…”

Her faithful guardian immediately appeared with a hot chocolate. He put her under the bed’s covers, gave her the mug and sat next to her when she made grabbing motions for him. He rubbed her back and let her snuggle patiently. “You’re the best,” she murmured against his shoulder.

“Tell me again about your armor of iron,” Thor offered to keep her mind busy. As she had predicted, he was a big fan, she’d had to promise him and Jane both that they’d be the first to see it in action.

She dozed off eventually, though she wouldn’t have been able to say when. She vaguely remembered babbling about her bare feet being warmed by the repulsors…?

 

When she woke up it was to the sight of her dad glaring at Clint. She blinked slowly, wiggled closer to Tony since he had taken Thor’s place and went octopus on him. With her face stuck to his stomach, she mumbled “Hi dad.”

“Kiddo, how do you feel?”

“I’m fine. Thor’s a good teddy bear. He made me hot chocolate and chose the best PJs.”

Tony glared at the action-ready Hawkeye printed on her pajama top then glared at the real one. “Good. It compensates for _someone else_ ,” he said pointedly.

Darcy patted his hand. “It’s fine, dad. Clint meant well.”

“Yes, and _you_ did well.” The marksman walked closer and sat down on a corner of the bed.

“I did?” She repeated, surprised.

“Yes, you did. You didn’t panic. You always followed security precautions, you handled the guns appropriately, and your aim is relatively good. You did well.” He patted her foot and smiled at her softly. “Plus, you really know how to handle most guns, whatever the caliber. It’s more than I expected really.”

“Does it mean I won’t have to go back to the gun range?” She immediately asked, hopeful.

He nodded. “Yeah, I think you’ll be able to handle it if there’s an emergency and that’s really all I wanted to ensure.”

She released a sigh of relief and relaxed against her dad. “Thank fuck.”

“Rest a little more and we’ll talk later if you want to, alright?” Clint squeezed her foot and stood up after she nodded, leaving the room under Tony’s heavy stare.

“Clint told you?” Darcy asked.

“Yeah.” Tony’s voice was husky. He rubbed her back distractedly.

“You know… that day when you said Stark Industries wouldn’t produce weapons anymore… that was a great day. I bought myself a cake and ate it all on my own to celebrate.”

“Yeah?”

She hummed and nodded. “I hate weapons. Sometimes, Stane brought weapons plans to me and he’d stare and wait for some reactions, something… and all I could ever think was: why do you ask me to find new ways of killing people? Don’t they already do that on their own? I was waiting for him to ask what I was capable of, what I could offer to SI, but he never did, and whatever I’d have done wouldn’t have pleased him, anyway.”

“… What are you capable of, dumpling?”

She looked up, caught unaware, and blinked at Tony’s patient stare. He didn’t seem to be kidding. “I– My taser,” she mumbled. “I mean… my taser _s_. I built them.”

“Them?”

She crawled from under the covers and walked around her apartment, collecting her work from the different places she stocked them. She laid them down beside Tony and proceeded to explain each particularity of her weapons of choice. There were seven of them, in all shapes and sizes. None of them were lethal, none of them smelled of gunpowder. Some could be used at distance, some could be reused.  

“I like the repulsors too, it’s like you’re a jedi, just ‘pssh’ and ‘slam’!” Darcy added with wild gestures.

Tony stared at his emotionally exhausted daughter and offered: “Want me to show you how to make one?”

“Hell yeah!” Her heart and mind were on their way to mending, but her brain wanted something to play with in the meantime. It was a trait she was pleased she shared with her father.

They walked to Tony’s workshop in a midst of very serious science talk interrupted by Tony’s jokes and Darcy’s giggles. They got tangled as they each tried to reach the holoprojector first and collapsed in a gleeful heap. They worked from the giant bean bags Darcy had requisitioned a week after she’d started. They were ergonomic _and_ comfortingly squishy.

Darcy never constructed a repulsor that day. Inventing the most obnoxious designs for the Iron suits was much more fun. Tony showed her his Iron Legion.

She mumbled: “Daddy-o, you had a problem.”

He sighed. “I know. I only have two now, one for action, the other for backup.”

Lying on her belly, she shifted on her bean bag. “So you really feel better?”

“Yeah. You?”

She now knew she’d be able to use a gun should the unlikely occasion arise. Awesome. Suck it anxiety. “Yep!”

She rolled from her bean bag and tackle-hugged her dad. He had to call in Pepper to rescue him.


	8. My dad is the man of my life

**Two months later – 18** ** th ** **September 2014**

Darcy knew she was bored when she opened her browser’s bookmarks folder titled “Trash”, where her news aggregate program sent all the tabloid articles mentioning Tony Stark. It was one thing to stay current on what they were saying about her boss; it was quite another for her to be desperate enough to read what they were saying about her _father_.

Lately, it could even be labeled as morbid curiosity. She still couldn’t believe some bozo paparazzo had noticed that Happy was the same man who had looked after Tony years before. Someone had nothing better to do than notice this kind of thing, it was baffling.  It was as though some _person_ was paid to do nothing but notice tiny details in private citizens’ lives and another to take that information and create outlandish headlines. Darcy sighed heavily as she read the titles: “ _The SI power couple endangered by Stark’s mistress?_ ”, “ _Tony_ _Stark: four years of faithfulness?_ ”, “ _Tony Stark’s new paramour_ ” and so on…

She skimmed through them, rolled her eyes a lot, facepalmed a little and sighed again at the end. Nowadays, she was pretty blasé about people thinking she was sleeping with her father. To be honest, if it wasn’t so personal, she could even find this trash funny (there was a period in college… but let’s not go there) but what they said about Pepper and Tony’s relationship was still bothering her. Oh, of course, she could hear Pepper’s voice reminding her: “What tabloids think don’t matter in any way, Darcy, forget them.” Except that Darcy was a poli-sci major; she knew that rumors could be detrimental to reputations and businesses.

Twirling a pen, she stared at the ceiling, looking for a brilliant idea to solve this. She was interrupted by a text from Jarvis telling her that Tony requested her presence in the gym where he was training with his fellow Avengers. Glad to have a distraction, she left her office and walked to the elevator.

The people that crossed her path smiled at her politely. After she had salvaged the coffee machine, everyone on the R&D floors had heard of her and she had earned a good reputation by spending time in Tony’s office and playing the middle(wo)man between them and their elusive boss. From what she knew, they were happy with her work and she counted on it staying that way.

The anonymous sources of the tabloids were obviously low on the food chain, they had nothing much truthful to say about Tony Stark’s assistant and that pleased her. If some tattletale went to the press, she’d have to find them, fire them and make their life hell. It was way too much work.

Darcy walked into the gym to find the Avengers stretching after their spar. There were so many muscles around that it was a good thing living in close quarters with Thor had given her some immunity to such sights, she’d have embarrassed herself otherwise. As it was, she had to stop herself from staring at Steve’s bare chest by keeping her gaze strictly on her dad.

Tony was doing leg stretches next to Bruce. As soon as he caught sight of her, he dragged her into a science argument that she ended with a very firm “Pepper would say no.

“Not even if…?”

“No.”

He pouted. “Fine. Come on, dumpling, take off the jacket.”

“What? Dad,” she whined as he walked away to the boxing ring. “It’s Tuesday morning, I’m supposed to work later, not nurse my aching muscles!”

“Whatever, take the afternoon off.” He threw her boxing gloves.

Darcy caught them with a sigh of defeat, cursing the day she had agreed to this. At the time, she’d thought it was a good way to escape Natasha’s plans to get her trained in self-defense. She had whined about it to her dad, who had immediately protested that _he_ could train her to defend herself. Learning something from her dad and spending time with him would never get tiresome so she had agreed. And honestly, learning to box with Tony _was_ great. The sheer physicality required even by her warm-ups before breakfast was less so. It was so different than just talking about business, tinkering with sciences, or cuddling on a couch to criticize a movie. The dynamic was different and she wanted that; she wanted everything she could have in this relationship.

But did he have to drag her into the boxing ring at any time of the day? To be more precise, did she really have to do it in front of all the Avengers? She dragged her feet and whined: “Daaad. Didn’t you already fight with everyone? Why are you so upbeat? Steve didn’t punch you hard enough?”

“Ah ah,” he mocked, “training you is perfect to cool down.”

“First of all, that’s rude. Second of all, You. Suck.” She took off her jacket and shoes before climbing on the ring and putting on the gloves. Given that she was wearing stretchy slacks, she didn’t even have the excuse of changing into non-business clothes first. It would have given the others a chance to clear out first, she thought sulkily.

“What’s that?!” He asked, outraged, pointing at [Captain America printed on her light grey T-shirt](http://www.stylinonline.com/t-shirt-captain-america-reborn-aop.html).

“Your punishment for being a bad dad trying to embarrass your daughter.”

Bucky whistled appreciatively and leaned against the ring’s ropes for a better view. “Nice one, sweetheart. Isn’t it Steve?”

Steve walked forward as he wiped his face with a towel and glanced at her. “Interesting style,” he agreed.

Darcy grinned, pleased; she always loved the original and artistic representations. “Thanks Steve! Thanks Nutcracker!” She leaned forward to kiss Bucky’s forehead but Tony grabbed her by the back of her T-shirt and dragged her to the ring’s center.

“Boxing, now.”

“Yes, dad,” she drawled while raising her hands in front of her.

 

He went easy on her but she gratefully took off the gloves and stretched her shoulders fifteen minutes later. The star spangled trio were the only ones left apart from them. She was grateful they had stayed out of her training, though she had no doubt they caught all her mistakes.

“So, what’s bothering you?” Tony suddenly asked as she stretched.

“The rumors are getting worse.”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop reading this crap?” He shook his head. “Jarvis monitors it, you don’t have to worry about it. I’ll be at Pepper’s beck and call during the next party, look all lovey-dovey and head-over-heels. Everyone will be assured that Pepper has everything perfectly under control and it’ll pass. You aren’t the first rumor, they even did the same with Natasha for a while.” He took long mouthfuls of an energy drink.

“Ok, but… what if we just tell the truth?”

“No,” he flat-out refused. “If you go public, it’ll be because you decided you wanted to, not because some little shits have nothing better to do with their time than speculate about my love life.” He raised her chin and stroked it lightly with his thumb. “Alright?” She nodded and he kissed her forehead. “Good. Pepper and I are used to this crap, dumpling. Trust us to handle it. You’re the priority.”

“But Pepper could lose so much,” she protested, “I don’t want to be a burden.”

Tony’s eyes darkened. “ _Don’t_ say crap like that,” he grumbled huskily. “Don’t you trust her?”

She gaped and did a pretty good imitation of a Magikarp. “Of course I do! I just mean that maybe I should change a few things too, like, if I had a different bodyguard…”

“No,” he refused in the same definite way than before. “Happy is the only one I trust with you.”

She pulled on her hair, frustrated. “Then… then maybe I should date!” She exclaimed a bit too loudly. “If I date, they’ll stop, right?”

He snorted. “If it’s a nobody they won’t care and I won’t let you date anyone just because of this either, kiddo…”

“Well, maybe I just want to date someone, anyway!” She grumbled, hands on her hips.

He raised an eyebrow. “Anyone in particular?” He squinted. “If it’s Barton…”

“No! Nope, not Clint,” she mumbled quickly.

“Is there something I should know, dumpling?” He asked suspiciously.

She shook her head. “Nope. Forget it, you’re right, it’s stupid anyway. I’ve to take a shower before lunch with Jane. See you later, dad!”

 

****One month earlier, August – Common rooms ****

Darcy was wrapped up in her Iron Patriot hoodie, purely for comfort since the temperature was good enough that she wore shorts. She was watching a rerun of Fantastic Four and snickered when Johnny Storm appeared naked except for a pink parka. “Don’t you think he looks like Steve?”

Clint came back from the kitchen with ice cream and raised an eyebrow at the screen. “Guess so.” He sat down by her side and put an arm around her shoulders, letting her snuggle close and stretch her bare legs across his lap.

“So…”

“So?”

She played with her spoon. “Natasha and you, are you… a _thing_?”

“Nope, we’re people,” he answered very seriously before eating a spoonful of pistachio ice cream.

Darcy rolled her eyes and nudged his arm. “No, really? I thought Natasha was an assassin robot and you a pod person. Oops, my bad. Answer the question, jackass, you know exactly what I mean.”

“We have an undefined relationship that may or may not include sexual encounters.”

Darcy stared at him intensely and squinted slowly. “That’s a yes, then, ok.” She grabbed the box and scarfed two spoonful of ice cream in quick succession, wincing and whining when she inevitably suffered from a brain freeze. She breathed out hard to warm her mouth and tilted her head to relieve the pain.    

Clint sighed, set the container on the coffee table and rubbed her temples. “What’s wrong with you? D’you want to tell me what this is about?”

“Nothing.”

“Listen, kitten, you know I like you a lot…”

Darcy could see where this was going from a mile away (if she was a douchebag, she would call it the friend zone, but she was smarter and classier than that, thank you very much). Embarrassed, she pulled away, putting her feet down and facing the screen. “Oh my god, just shut up and forget it.”

He caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing her to turn enough for him to kiss the corner of her lips. “I like you a lot Darcy and you’re gorgeous. Any other time, I’d have gladly brought you to bed, but I don’t think I’m what you need and I refuse to fuck up our relationship for sex.”

That was slightly better than what she was expecting but she still crossed her arms and sank in the couch. “And what do I need?” She mumbled derisively.

“Someone who could take care of you without any restraints, someone on whom you could always rely.”

“Are you saying I can’t rely on you?”

“I’m saying there are times where I won’t be able to be there for you even if I wanted to. You deserve better than that.”

Darcy put her feet on the coffee table and glared at the TV. “Yeah, well, that all sounds pretty good, you know, _in theory_ , but in the meantime there is no-one all the time. So, practical application: it sucks.” She could feel the tears threatening and that was really bordering on pathetic. She was perfectly fine alone and she didn’t need anyone. Forget his theory, it was obviously flawed.

“Kitten,” Clint sighed, trying to put an arm around her shoulders to hug her.

She withdrew from his touch and stood. “Forget it Clint, I need a moment alone.” She gave him a flickering smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back to normal by tomorrow.”

In the morning, a bag of cronuts was waiting for her in her kitchen. She kept her promise, stomped on her feelings and carried on with their friendship as if nothing had happened.

 

**21** ** st ** **September 2014**

It was nearly midnight when Darcy stepped onto the balcony adjacent to the common living room. She was absentmindedly rubbing her back, bothered by a dull ache that didn’t want to go away. Passing by the deckchairs, a dark shape suddenly caught her eye. She startled, swore profusely and sighed: “Bucky, for god’s sake, you scared me.”

The quiet man wearing black from head to toe was casually lying on a deckchair. “I wasn’t even trying, sweetheart.”

“By Frigga, you stupid spy guys are infuriating,” she mumbled.

“Who is Frigga?”

“Thor’s mother. She was like, the most Supreme Goddess ever, but she was killed recently by dark elves. Don’t mention her to Thor; it makes him all moody,” she explained simply. Her habit to name Asgardians instead of ‘God’ might be strange for some, but she felt personally less silly swearing by the name of someone who existed. She glared at his outfit. “Why are you dressed like the darkest part of my soul?”

“I haunt the darkest part of your soul. Why are you dressed like a pin-up ready for a swim?” He ogled her two piece swimsuit; it was navy with white polka dots and white edges. With her hair raised in a bun, a few stray strands brushing her shoulders, she looked damn fine.

“Because I’m going to take a midnight bath and vintage looks good on me.” She threw her towel on a free deckchair and walked to the edge of the balcony, where a jacuzzi was embedded in the ground. It lightened and started to bubble when she came closer.

“Anything would look good on you.”

She laughed softly. “That’s sweet but you’re wrong my dear Nutcracker. Fashion nowadays doesn’t favor the curvy girls.” She stepped inside and sighed appreciatively at the hot water. “Want to join me instead of staring, Bucky? It does wonders for muscle aches.”

He didn’t answer and didn’t move for a long moment before standing and walking to her. He stopped a few feet away and stared… and stared… and stared…

“What? Use your words Bucky, I’m not a mind-reader!”

“I need to sit there.”

She blinked stupidly at him before realizing that she had taken the place facing the door, the only entry and exit. “Oh,” she breathed quietly, moving to the one with her back to the door without a word of complaint. She heard his clothes slide to the floor before he stepped in, only wearing his _black_ boxer briefs. They soaked in silence for a few minutes. Darcy closed her eyes and moved slightly to get the water jet exactly where it ached. When she opened her eyes, Bucky looked slightly more relaxed. “Feels good, right?”

He nodded.

“If your shoulders still hurt I can do a mean rub. Jane gets all knotted up when she–“

“How do you know…?” He interrupted, frowning.

“Well, duh, you’re always tensing with your shoulders up, you have one arm slightly heavier than the other – dad could help with that by the way – and part of your shoulder’s articulation was artificially replaced in the forties. If you weren’t sore, it would be a miracle.”

“I don’t like… people touching it.” He said, clenching his metal fist.

“I noticed that. You allowed dad to check it though and you asked for the red star to be removed…”

“It’s too distinctive. It shows on footage of Washington.” He frowned and slowly added: “And I didn’t care much for it. Steve is the stars and stripes guy.”

Darcy laughed softly. “Right. I understand it’s harder to let dad tinker with the inside of your arm but when you’re ready, ask him to improve your comfort, he has a lot of ideas and it’ll make your life easier, I assure you.”

“What about you?”

“Me?”

“You’re a genius too, aren’t you? Don’t you have ideas?”

She blushed. “Well… I told them to dad… We might have had a little debate on the subject…”

“Be there.”

“What?”

“When he’ll work on it, be there.”

“Oh, ok, if you want.” She squirmed. “You’re doing it again.”

“What?”

“The intense staring.”

“Sorry.” His eyes left her face and went lower, to the water licking her cleavage.

She laughed and nudged his feet with hers. “You ass.”

“I’m just saying, back in the day, ladies preferred when I was looking them in the eyes, but whatever floats your boat,” he drawled.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it. It just unsettles me when you stare all stony face but I suppose it’s a little bit selfish of me to–“

“It’s not. No man should make a lady uncomfortable,” he recited. “I’m sorry,” he repeated more honestly.

She smiled softly, slid forward on her seat and brushed away a strand of his hair. “It’s alright, I understand you’re struggling.”

He hadn’t flinched or moved away when she tried to touch him. On the contrary, he leaned towards her touch. He seemed lost in thoughts, like he was remembering and classifying memories. Darcy nonetheless felt like she should have kept quiet instead of opening her big mouth again. She tried to move back but he caught her hand and held it loosely.

“Do… you want a hug?” She offered, at a loss for what to do. Her thoughts had gone back to the kiss they shared on the 4th of July. Maybe, just like her… Bucky was craving touch?

He smirked slowly. “I’m not about to say no to a pretty girl.”

She snorted. “Yeah, whatever Nutcracker, you’re just lucky I’m a cuddler.” When in doubt of what to do to help a friend, hug him! That had mixed results with Jane, to be honest, but when Thor had been brooding after London and the loss of his mother, it had worked quite well.

She slid across Bucky’s lap and opened her arms. He leaned onto her and hid his face against her neck, giving her the perfect angle to stroke his short hair. He’d had it cut some weeks ago. The style had made him look so much like the Bucky Barnes, Howling Commando they had been taught about in school. It was the eyes, she thought, that made him look like someone else.

Eyes closed, Darcy enjoyed the quiet, the soft touch, the warm water and the light wind. She was pretty sure Bucky wasn’t exactly there with her but she supposed she kept him grounded. His metal arm, draped on the edge of the jacuzzi, was shifting sometimes as he contracted his fingers but otherwise he was unmoving.

She couldn’t tell how much time it took before he breathed in louder and whispered: “Thanks.” He suddenly looked up before she could answer.

Steve was looking at them from the doorway and seemed ready to turn around. “Steve!” She called, rising up to gesture at him. “Join us!”

“I didn’t mean to intrude,” he said once close enough to be heard.

“Nah, Bucky has reached his time limit for cuddles anyway. Come in!” She took back her seat and gestured to the place between Bucky and she.

Steve rubbed the back of his neck. “A midnight bath? Really?”

“The lady insisted,” Bucky drawled.

“And your shoulders thank me.”

Steve joined them. He exchanged a long look with his best friend, probably checking he was alright before relaxing when Bucky punched him in the shoulder.

The boys had such long legs that they were all knocking shins so Darcy naturally put her feet on Bucky’s lap and beamed at him when he stared at her exasperatedly.

“Are you alright Darcy?” Steve asked. Now he was looking at _her_ with concern. “I heard what happened this morning…”

“Oh.” Darcy waved a hand dismissively. “It’s fine, Happy handled it.”

“What happened?” Bucky asked, frowning.

“Paparazzi,” she sighed, leaning backwards. “One of them was aggressive but Happy worked long enough for Tony that it was child play for him to deal with it.”

“What about you?” Steve asked. “It can be overwhelming to deal with so much unwanted attention…”

She smiled softly. “Speaking from experience, Cap?”

“Yeah.” He glanced to Bucky. “I’m glad we managed to keep your story from the press, jerk, it’d have been hellish.”

“That’s for sure,” Darcy agreed, looking away, to the city’s lights visible beyond the balcony’s edge. A light touch startled her. Bucky was lightly stroking the arch of her feet but wasn’t looking at her.

“Darcy?”

“I’m fine Steve. One of these days, I’ll officially be Darcy Stark, I might as well get used to it, right?”

“It’s the fate of a Stark, I suppose,” Steve agreed grudgingly. “I remember, even during war, Howard was followed by reporters.”

Bucky snorted. “You weren’t much better, punk. Remember the number of times you made pleading eyes at us to save your skin from some blood-sucking hack looking to make a name for himself? After a while, Peggy refused to do it because they always asked her about your relationship. The guys and I had to flip a coin.”

“You remember that?” Steve asked with a wide grin.

Bucky nodded and shifted his shoulders.

Darcy smiled slightly. “Oh geez, I just realized… you guys knew my granddad better than me. How weird is that?”

She found herself the center of their attention as dual smiles of mischief stretched their lips. “What should we start with, punk?”

“I’d say that time in Strasbourg, jerk.”

“Good choice. Do you know French, darling? I’m not as good as Steve, but French puns are worth it.”

 

Suffice to say that Darcy learned a lot more about her grandfather than what was strictly safe for any granddaughter to know. “I can’t fucking believe you French kissed,” she murmured when they went back to the elevator. Bucky, the traitor, laughed at her while Steve shrugged, unabashed.

“Do you think Tony would like to hear the story?” He asked.

She nudged him in the chest (getting the confirmation that yes, it was as hard as it looked – and let’s not think about how they both looked in wet boxers, Darcy, focus!). “Oh my god, you’re going to ruin his childhood, you cruel man.”

“You’re right. I’ll keep it in store for one of his more annoying days.”

“Make sure it’ll be somewhere Jarvis can record it.”

“Now, who’s cruel?”

“Well, he _does_ have some really annoying moments, payback is sweet…”

 

**24th September 2014**

“I could have come alone,” Steve noted when they stepped out of the car.

“You could have,” Darcy agreed, “but Tony doesn’t think fashion and you mesh well and I’m not sure he’s wrong. I’m here to save you from the tailor and the tailor from you.”

“I… appreciate it, I suppose.”

They walked into the tailor shop and Steve was immediately hogged by the staff who swooned over his shoulders and hips ratio. Darcy sniggered a little, stepped in when the question of what he wanted came up (“Uh, a tuxedo?” was greeted with lenient smiles) and left him on his own when he was dragged in the backroom for his mensuration.

She was sitting in a comfortable armchair, legs crossed, tablet on her lap as she sorted Tony’s mails, when the door opened to admit Harvey Specter and his associate. They nodded at each other. The lawyers went to the bar. She sipped her mint lemonade.

A few minutes later, Specter walked to her and asked “May I sit?” while pointing at the armchair next to her.

She stared at him fixedly. “You asked the staff to warn you I was here.” She had seen one of the girls use the phone when they walked in and she didn’t believe meeting him in the same place twice was a coincidence. “Let’s be clear Mr Specter. If you’re going to bother me, I’ll save Captain America from the tape measure this instant and make sure this tailor never sees an Avenger ever again.”

He sat down, adjusting his jacket as he did while keeping hold of his glass of amber liquid. “I’m not here to bother you. Tony is a friend as well as my client.”

“Then why using those convoluted methods when you can simply call him?”

“He’s not the one I want to talk to.” Unperturbed, Specter sipped his drink. “Did you know there are paparazzi outside?”

“Oh, for Thor’s sake,” she sighed rubbing her temples. Happy was waiting for them in the car, parked right outside. She knew that, between him and Steve, no one would bother her, but being stalked every time she walked out was starting to irk her. If that was what was waiting for her when she’d officially be a Stark, she wasn’t thrilled at all.

Specter wet his lips and looked at her calmly. “This is getting on your nerves, isn’t it?”

She sighed. “I don’t usually throw threats at the slightest provocation.”

“I thought so. That being said, it was nicely done.”

“Thanks,” she said with a pleased smile before adjusting her stance in a more relaxed position. “I’m listening Mr Specter. What do you want?”

“You know I’m aware of the truth. I mainly want to ensure the best outcome for both of us. You are and will be in a delicate situation. I can help.”

Darcy leaned with her elbow on the armrest, two fingers holding her chin as she deduced what he wasn’t saying. “You want to pull the rug out from under Louis Litt, don’t you? Be my lawyer before he could even learn how profitable it would be.”

Specter leaned back with an ankle on his knee and a confident smirk. “Between other motivations, the thought might have crossed my mind.”

She laughed freely, reluctantly amused by their rivalry. “Why should I? I quite liked Litt.”

“You’d be a first.”

“He was helpful in a time of need,” Darcy replied, shrugging before sipping her lemonade.

“Litt has many faults but Stane went too far even for him. I’m pretty sure he was miffed he didn’t see it coming. However I can assure you that you wouldn’t approve of his usual methods, there was a reason he was Stane’s lawyer after all…” He watched her attentively as she pondered his words. “Don’t feel a misplaced loyalty to him for doing his job. It will cost you, in the ring you’re about to enter.”

“Alright. Why are you different?”

“I might have a solution to your current problem.” He leaned forward, putting his foot down. “Paparazzi are interested in Tony, not you, not yet, if they think they won’t find anything out about him by following you, they’ll stop. To do that, give them something or rather someone else.” He glanced to the curtain hiding the backroom. “Of course, Captain America might not be a good option for discretion either.”

“A fake boyfriend. I thought about it but Tony didn’t think it would work with the average Joe.”

Harvey snorted. “Tony might have had more than one motivation to say so but he isn’t necessarily wrong. You’ll need someone relatively upscale but uninteresting for the tabloids.”

“Oh”, she breathed before chuckling lightly. “Really? You want that deal so much?”

“It wouldn’t be the most unconventional thing I did, I assure you.”

“You realize Tony would know?”

“He’s aware I don’t sleep with my clients. He’ll rant a bit but I’ve dealt with worse. He’s a drama queen.”

She laughed softly. “Yes, sometimes, he is.” After a sip of her lemonade, she adjusted her glasses and made a decision: “What contract would you have me sign?”

He gestured to his associate. “The same one as Tony, save for a few changes on the sexual harassment lawsuits. Unfortunately or not, I believe you’re more likely to sue than be sued.”

Mike Ross promptly left his stool at the bar from where he was watching them discreetly and offered Darcy a bundle of papers. She leafed through it and snorted at the fees. “I don’t know what’s worse, this number compared to my actual salary or the fact that I’ll probably need that much.” She looked mischievously at Specter. “For that fee, do I get your personal number?”

“No, but you’ll probably be able to get it from Tony, won’t you?”

She laughed. “Challenge accepted! Give me a minute.” She pulled out her phone and speed dialed her father.

When he picked up, she could hear small noises indicating he was still in the workshop where she had left him. Good, he would be in a hurry.  “Hi dumpling, is Steve stuck in his tux?”

She chuckled. “Steve is fighting with the tape measure. I need an advice. Harvey Specter and a similar contract to yours for me, yes or no?”

“Yes.”

“Great. I’ll need his private number.”

“You got it,” he agreed absent-mindedly.

“Thanks. See you in half an hour.” She hung up, smiled at the gaping associate and grinned impishly at Harvey when she received the number sent by Jarvis. “So, consider it done. I’m gonna take that contract to check everything is clear and I’ll send you back the signed copy,” she said while typing quickly a “ _how do you want to do this?_ ” text.

Harvey took a Starkphone from his inside pocket and sighed when he read it. “I’m already regretting this. Two of you, what I was thinking?”

She laughed joyously. “The fees, Mr Specter, the fees and besting Litt.”

“That would be it,” he agreed with a smirk.

The curtains fluttered and gave way to Steve who looked at them curiously.

“Ah yes, there is also this added bonus. Steve, this is Harvey Specter, Tony’s lawyer, and his associate, Mike Ross. I won’t bother introducing Captain America…”

Harvey stood to shake Steve’s hand with a polite and calm greeting but his open face couldn’t hide his pleasure at meeting the icon. Ross was babbling but coherent which wasn’t bad as first meetings go.

“Darcy,” Steve scolded her lightly when he caught sight of her smirk.

She spread her arms. “Don’t spoil my fun Steve, I totally butchered our first meeting, I’m compensating.”

“How does that make any sense?”

“Sssh, don’t be a buzzkiller or I’ll say so to you know who. Oh, Harvey says there are paparazzi outside.”

Steve’s expression became grim. “I should have come alone.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” she assured him and patted his arm.

When they left the shop, Harvey put a hand under her elbow to slow her down, letting Steve walked forward as Happy opened the back door. They stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and her fake boyfriend leaned for a chaste and long kiss.

“We might need to appear together again to sell it,” he noted.

She nodded and caught sight of Ross over his shoulder. “Does your associate…”

“He knows how to keep a secret,” Harvey promised.

“Alright then, see you soon Harvey, and thanks for the favor but don’t stalk me again, ok?” She walked to the car, waved to him and smiled to Happy before sitting in. As the door closed behind her, she glanced at Steve. He looked stone-faced, a bit too much. “What?”

“I thought you…” He shook his head. “No, it’s not my business, sorry.”

“You’re right, it’s not, but Harvey is my fake boyfriend just to get the pap’ off my back.”

“Oh. Ok. Does Tony know?”

“Do you want to bet how much time it’ll take before he does?”

“Do you want me to tell Bucky you compared him to a Dark Wizard?”

She gaped at him. “You read Harry Potter! Oh, I’m so proud Steve!” She threw herself at him, pulling on her seatbelt to hug him. “Wait. You read the books, right? you didn’t watch the movies? Because it’s really not the same!” She ranted. “And by the way I was not comparing Bucky to the crazy bad guy, at best you could say that their names both hold power but really this is a scary comparison because…” She waved her hands as she let loose her geekiness.

 

**10th October 2014**

Harvey and she had agreed to appear together at an upscale business party hosted by a client of his and an associate of Stark Industries. Darcy was only going as Harvey’s plus one but Pepper and Tony were invited as well.

As they walked into the garage, Darcy slowed her father and whispered: “Stop that dad. We’re doing this to get the paparazzi off our back. How is that going to work if you glare at my date all night long?”

Tony stopped to frown at her. “I told you we could handle it! You didn’t need to do this.”

“I do need to do this! This is affecting my life just as much as yours and I won’t wait for things to arrange themselves passively!”

His frown eased up as he stared at her intently. “Okay,” he sighed.

Expecting a scene (it wouldn’t be the first on the matter), Darcy was flummoxed. “Okay? Just like that?”

“Yeah, okay. If that’s why you’re doing this then fine,” he agreed reluctantly, arms crossed. “As long as you don’t spill this bullshit about being a burden ever again, it’s fine.”

“Then… you’ll stop glaring?”

“… If I have to,” he grumbled, glaring one last time at Harvey’s back as he talked with Pepper. “Stomp on his feet with your pointy heels and taser him if he doesn’t behave, alright?”

Darcy rolled her eyes but smiled. “He’ll be a perfect gentleman and you know it, dad.” She hugged him tight.

When she moved back, he stopped her to say: “For the record, you look gorgeous and no one deserves you.”

“Aww, you’re not bad yourself. See you later, dad!” She patted his breast pocket and hurried to Harvey’s side. ”You’re out of the danger zone,” she whispered to him before thanking Happy for opening the car’s door. She carefully adjusted her long purple dress as she took her place inside. “Sorry for all the negative energy he sent your way,” she joked when her date sat down by her side.

“It’s quite amusing to be honest and he’s far less intimidating than your honorary godly brother.”

“Wha–? When did you meet Thor?”

“Ten minutes ago, in the elevator.”

She cringed. “You’re still here so… I guess he behaved?”

“He mainly stressed how much your well-being meant to him. You’re well looked after,” Harvey noted, as the car followed Pepper and Tony’s Mercedes.

“Yes, I am.”

Happy purposefully took the long road to go to their destination on the other side of Manhattan. When they walked on the red carpet, the most important guests were already inside, followed by most photographers, allowing them a relatively quiet entry.

Of course, Darcy was quickly bored out of her mind but she hadn’t studied politics for nothing and stayed alert through the conversations. Harvey wasn’t only her fake boyfriend, he was a perfect introduction to the business world, in a way that she couldn’t had have with Tony. The Starks tended to always be monopolized by the same people in those parties. She would bet that she met more interesting businessmen than they had during that evening. It didn’t hurt that Harvey Specter had a really good and varied network.

“You’re definitely your father’s daughter,” he commented as they took a breather on a balcony.

She sipped her organic apple juice and raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“You both hide your cleverness under a thick layer of snark and banter, luring your interlocutor into underestimating you.”

She hummed and nodded slowly. “I guess we _do_ do that. It’s easier.”

Hands in his pockets, he tilted his head. “It’s a way to get what you want, I suppose. I’m not sure it would serve you on the long term however.”

“Why?”

He was leaning with the small of his back against the railing while she leaned with her elbows on it. He stared at the room inside, making sure they were alone but lowering his voice nonetheless: “When your heritage is known, the first things people will ask are: why did you hide all this time? Are you really worthy of your legacy? You’ll be watched and scrutinized, worse than what you went through up to now. You can’t afford to be underestimated. You need to quash all doubts, to assert yourself. Make a statement from the start.”

She played with her glass as she pondered his advice. “You really think it’ll be that bad?”

“Yes. As my associate would say, your story is the stuff of books and movies, Darcy. You’ll be protected from the worst of it thanks to your entourage but a bad management of your  coming out could make your life hard for years to come rather than for a few months.” He sipped his scotch and shrugged. “I’m sure Pepper and Tony will have the best PR team on this but you’ll choose when and you need to make sure that you’re ready.”    

“Well, when you say it like that,” she mumbled, “I definitely don’t feel ready.”

“You will be.” He pressed her shoulder gently. “You’re good at this.”

 

Hours later, she was laying down on a deckchair at the top of the Avengers’ tower. Don’t get ideas, she wasn’t hoping to see anyone in particular up here, not at all, she just liked this place and soon it would be too cold to appreciate the night air. She was bundled in a wrap as it stood, mourning the stars concealed by the city’s lights.

She remembered a simple and happy time when she and Jane would look at the stars together if they couldn’t sleep (Heavens, was it only four years ago, really? So much had changed.). Jane would teach her constellations while Darcy grouched about it, though she secretly liked it. It had been one of the first times she had felt at ease. No pressure, no fears, no doubts. A simple life spent taking care of someone else, being useful, learning a field of sciences she knew nothing about… a _too_ simple life in some people’s opinions.

She wasn’t surprised to see Tony join her. He had most likely checked on her when he came back with Pepper and Jarvis had told him she wasn’t in her rooms. His bow tie was undone, hanging around his neck but he looked great, a perfect Stark. “Move,” he asked gently after giving her a once over to make sure she was alright.

They cuddled against each other on the deck chair, his arm around her shoulders and her head against his neck. She had removed her shoes earlier and now she tucked her feet under his calves for warmth.

“What’s wrong?” He asked after giving her some time.

“I’m scared,” she admitted softly.

“Of what?”

“Of becoming Darcy Stark.” She wanted to explain, to lay down all the doubts plaguing her but words failed her. Afraid he would misunderstood her, she simply added: “I’m not sure this life is for me.”

Tony squeezed her slightly and kissed the top of her head. “I told you dumpling, whenever you’re ready. If it’s in ten years, it’ll be in ten years. If it’s never, that’s fine.”

“But…”

He made clicking noises with his tongue. “No but. Whatever you want, I’ll make it happen. The only thing I care about is you being happy. You want to go raise bisons in Alaska? No problem. Just make sure you have a guest room for me and Pep, we’ll come visit once a month. You’ll have the best internet connection of this backwater place and we’ll talk every day. Am I right?”

“I’d rather raise huskies… or caribou,” she commented thoughtfully.

He wrinkled his nose. “... Or you could raise dolphins in Malibu, you know, if you’re really serious about this, we might want to come visit you more often then. We love Malibu.”

They shared a glance and laughed softly. Darcy hugged him tighter. “Thank you dad.”

“Anytime, anything. Come on, it’s too cold out here. Did Specter behave?”

She chuckled and hung on his arm as they walked in, chatting softly.

 

Clint had a point: she needed someone she could always rely on, someone who would care for her. The thing is… she already had him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry you had to wait so long for this one guys, IRL kept me and my beta _belladonnaprice_ a little more busy this month! I hope this chapter was good enough for you to forgive me... If not, I know you'll forgive me with the next one because 1) it's almost done and 2) *mischievous grin* Darcy/Bucky (yeah, yeah, no need to kill me about Harvey ;) I only needed him as an exterior and neutral point of view for Darcy but his part is done). 
> 
> By the way, your comments for the previous chapter were awesome. They really warmed my heart, thank you ! ♥


	9. My dad is a prick sometimes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait guys! Have a long chapter with smut at the end to make it up to you! =D

**12** **th** **November 2014**

Their plan worked. Tabloids published pictures of Tony kissing Pepper’s hand andthe paparazzi left Darcy alone in favor of more juicy stories.

With the rampant speculation put to bed, Darcy could enjoy a quieter period of time.She had made peace with the idea of becoming Darcy Stark, knowing it would only happen if and when she wanted it to. With this conclusion, she focused on her job, learning about Stark Industries and carefully studying every ongoing projectin R&D. She even kept tabs on Stark Security even though it wasn’t her department.

Officially, Maria Hill was running it. Unofficially, nothing happened without Steve Rogers’s approval. Tony, as the mastermind of this new division, couldn’t really help but stick his nose in it. Since he was personally designing all thetech neededby the Avengers Initiative, it was expected anyway. The three of them were meeting weekly, often more. Darcy never assisted Tony during those _top-secret_ meetings and she had never asked to be involved either. Her father told her enough that she felt in the loop without the added stress.

She usually waited patiently for him by handling paperwork. Today, however, she couldn’t focus on anything.

The Avengers had had an emergency three days ago, for the first time since they were managed by Stark Industries. It had been kept quiet, with no publiclaw enforcement intervening, so Darcy didn’t know much about it, just that Hydra was involved and that they had gone to Europe...

She had tried not to worry but Jarvis’s regular reassurances had been welcome anyway.

They had all come back mostly uninjured but she hadn’t had the opportunity to see them yet. They had landed at five in the morning,  when she was sleeping, and they had beenin debriefing since eight thirty. It was noon. They were probably all dead tired... ~~~~maybe they had all fallen asleep in a giant puppy pile? Eh… A girl could dream.

In her frustration, she texted Jane:

-  _Storming in, yes or no?_

_-_ _Yes._

_-_ _Eh?! Jane, you’re supposed to be my conscience, to remind me to be professional!_

_-_ _Making sure Tony’s alive is your job. And I want Thor back. He woke me up at dawn, he has to make it up to me. Go._

Darcy smirked. It was cute how her best friend refused to admit she had missed Thor and wanted to have wild, life-reaffirmingsex with him to reassure herself he was fine and not leaving again anytime soon.

With Jane’s blessing, nothing could stop Darcy from barging into the super-secret debriefing, not even Maria’s (possibly deadly)assistant. She walked in the room, pushing a cart full of takeout bags and coffee cups, and immediately got the feeling she had stepped onto a battlefield.

The room was more crowded than she’dthoughtit would be. She’d been expecting to see the original six as well as Maria; she hadn’t realized Bucky and Sam had also been invited. They were all seated at a round tableexcept for Bucky. He was in a corner, arms crossed, looking down. Steve and Tony were sitting on opposite sidesand glaring at each other (urgh, they were supposed to be getting along better!).

Everyone’s attention immediately shifted toher and she took a second to remind herself that all this hostility wasn’t purposefully targeted at her.

“Alright, guys,” she called as cheerfully as possible, “lunch break! “

“Miss Lewis, you haven’t the clearance to be here and this isn’t a good time,” Maria Hill remarked with a frown.

“Too bad!” Darcy replied gleefully. It was already done, she was going to see it through. Clint helped her with most of her burden – and immediately hogged the chicken wings – before she walked to her dad and put down a cup of coffee and a cheeseburger in front of him. “Daddy?” She whisperedas she sat down on the edge of the table. Leaning sideways she placed a kiss on his forehead, her hair shifting to obscure them both and give him a moment of privacy.

He leaned back in his seat. His face was closed off and gloomy. He didn’t seem injured but he had dark rings under his eyes. “Yeah, thanks kiddo,” he mumbled, immediately going for the coffee.

Darcy glanced at Bruce sitting close by but didn’t get more than a soft tired smile. She sighed and asked softly: “Can I get a hug?” He had never refused her and she often used this request to get him to relax as well. This time though, as he embraced her waist, his forehead resting briefly against her belly, he seemed absent, with his mind elsewhere. She pet his hair until the food was fully distributed and then rose with a sigh. It was better not to push Hill’s temper too far.

She left the meeting room as preoccupied as she’d entered it and things didn’t get better.

Tony stayed locked in his workshop for the rest of the day and most of the night. The Avengers stayed tight-lipped and Bucky was nowhere to be seen. Since Pepper was in Los Angeles for the week, Darcy had no choice but to bear with it… or to try to, anyway. She would have gone to Jane but the astrophysicist had taken the day off to be with her boyfriend and Darcy wasn’t going to intrude. London had beenquite enough with the oversharing, thanks.

 

The next day, when Jarvis informed her Tony hadn’t eaten since the cheeseburger she had brought him, leaving him alone to brood wasn’t an option anymore. She made a big filling omelet with as much potatoes, spinach and cheese that she could add and put down the plate right in front of his nose, consequently shutting off the holoprojection he was working on. “Eat.”

“I don’t want to talk,” he immediately said.

“That’s fine. Eat.”

“I know I tell you everything but I need to think about it alone.”

“ _Okayyy._ Eat,” she repeated, grabbing his right hand and putting a fork in it. She repressed a flashback to those days when she was a kid putting a pen or a wrench in his hand to convince him to do things.Now wasn’t the time to be reminiscing; she had a job to do and a father to take care of.

“And whatever the others told you, I’m not being unreasonable about it…”

“You are not eating dad, _that’s_ not reasonable.” She shifted and her foot hit something, producing a glass sound. “Is that a scotch bottle? Are you drinking on an empty stomach at eleven in the morning? Dad!”

“I’m fine,” he grumbled, scratching his five o’clock shadow.

“That’s not what Jarvis, a mirror or myself would say! Dad! Whatever this is about, it’s not worth your health!”

He raised his voice. “That’s for me to judge! Everyone’s so ready to sweep it under the rug and I’m not, ok? Just leave me the _fuck_ alone!”

“Fine!” She shouted back, just because it was that or letting the tears spring forward. “But eat this fucking omelet or so help me god, Jarvis will get Pepper and Rhodey to call you non-stop!” She walked away.

“What about you?” He called back.

“I’m done trying to talk you down, you….you...stupid Neanderthal!” She needed to find better insults for him. It had been too good until now but he was bound to be an annoying prick from time to time. She needed munitions.

 

Tony came out of his lab the next day. Only because he had work to do and, contrary to what most thought, he was a professional. As such he was there for the R&D meeting at 11:10am, shaved and hiding his red eyes behind sunglasses.

Darcy was already sitting when he arrived. She greeted him with a terse “Mr Stark” that set the tone of their exchanges for the following hour.

Though everyone noticed, they did their best to keep quiet, eyes down, until Tony left after cutting the meeting short. Then they turned to Darcy with sympathetic glances.

“It was only a matter of time before he blundered,” noted a female engineer on Darcy’s right, “but six months is pretty good… Are you going to resign?”

“What? No,” Darcy protested.

Everyone seemed to relax or sigh in relief. “Good, good, I knew you had a backbone. You’re Ms Potts material. Come on, hangin there. Working for that man is hard but worthwhile. Everything else is a piece of cake.” She patted her forearm and gave her an encouraging smile.

Darcy left the room with the feeling she had won a few more points on the reputation scale. Most people were smiling at her, as if being pissed at Tony was a rite of passage bringing them all closer. She had a pretty good guess as to what they talked about during their coffee break: complaining about the boss was apparently the way to go. It would be worrying if she didn’t know how much they respected him too. Tony was just the kind of man you loved to loathe and who made it easy for you to do so.

Just as that thought was crossing her mind, she entered the elevator to find Tony waiting on her, arms crossed.She groaned and let her arms fall. He immediately glared at the Captain America shirt she wore with the subtitle “The First Avenger”.

“That shirt is hideous,” he claimed.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah? Have you seen what you’re wearing?”

He looked down to his ACDC shirt. “What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s so boring there’s no words for it. It’s just four stupid letters and no style.”

“Watch your mouth, kiddo...”

“Or what?”

“Or… your collection might disappear.”

She squinted at him. “Don’t you dare! You are such a jealous chipmunk!”

“Am not.”

They stepped out of the elevator, bickering and falling into other languages to express the depth of their creativity in invectives. They walked in the common kitchen swearing in French.

“Marin d’eau douce!” He grumbled as she pushed him to get to the fridge first.

“Did you just Captain Haddock me? How old are you?!”

“Tintin is a classic! You have no respect for classics!”

“Vieux schnock!”

To be fair, Tony was much better in Italian. She only understood half of it, which she found quite annoying so, just to throw him off, she suddenly said: “Je t’aime papa.” Watching him stop mid-word was quite funny. On tiptoes, she kissed his cheek and walked away, leaving behind her a sandwich. “Now eat!”

As she walked to the elevator, Clint came out of a nook. “You guys fighting?”

Darcy shrugged. “Maybe, or maybe we’re just training our foreign languages.”

“Is it because of Barnes?”

Darcy was lucky that she had her back to him while selecting the labs floor. She managed to erase her surprise from her face as she stepped back. “Maybe.”

“I get this is difficult for you, between your family loyalty and your friendship for Barnes, but you may be the best person to settle this…” He stopped as he stared at her. “He didn’t tell you anything,” he realized.

She sighed. Obviously she wasn’t ready to be a spy yet. “No but I’m starting to think he should. What is this about Bucky?”

Clint winced. “This is not my story to tell, Dee.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course. Whatever. Keep your secrets, that’s nothing new.”

“Darcy, come on, please,” he sighed.

The door opened but she took the time to squeeze Clint’s hand before walking out to eat lunch with Jane. She wasn’t mad at him, not really, just frustrated.

  


“I know this Avengers’ business comes with a lot of classified stuff but I just hate seeing my dad like this,” she grumbled, shoulders down, as she poked her food.

Jane swallowed her mouthful of pasta and patted her friend’s arm. “You know, something like that was bound to happen. Tony has been on his best behavior around you, everyone says so, even Thor noticed a difference, but old habits die hard.”

Darcy snorted. “Are you saying this was the ‘honeymoon’ phase of our relationship and now I have to be ready for the worst?”

“Not necessarily. Obviously something set him off. Yet, he is still careful around you and, from what you said, I think he waited for you in the elevator to apologize or at least talk it out.”

Darcy raised a sceptical eyebrow but she had to agree. He wouldn’t have wait for her to insult her shirt.

“I think he’s trying, even now. I’m sure this will be resolved soon.”

With a sigh, Darcy nodded. “Let’s hope so. I don’t suppose you know anything about what happened.”

Jane shrugged. “Thor was solemn. He just said he wouldn’t be able to spar with Barnes as he hoped and when I asked why he said his progress might be compromised.”

Darcy frowned and pursed her lips around her mouthful of spaghetti. That was bad news. She knew Sam had been pretty pleased with Bucky’s progress so far. What could have upset Bucky _and_ Tony so much? She’d try talking to her father tomorrow, she decided.

 

The next day was a Saturday. Darcy woke up determined to use her spare time to fix this... whatever-it-was with her dad. Her plan was supposed to start with a homemade breakfast of her dad’s favorite pancakes (three chocolate chips) and her best Iron Man T-shirt.

She opened her wardrobe with a smile. It immediately vanished. “Jaaarvis…” she drawled menacingly. Her collection of T-shirts was replaced by Iron Man and ACDC T-shirts. They weren’t even in her size, they were her dad’s. She glared at the ceiling, clenching her fists on her hips.

“I’m sorry Darcy,” Jarvis answered with his best imitation of a contrite tone, “Mr Stark modified my protocols for a limited timeframe.”

“Did he come intomy apartments while I was sleeping?!”

“No, he did it yesterday afternoon, right after lunch.”

It was better than she had feared but still. Eyes narrowed, she stated: “This… is war!”

 

“Good morning!” She bellowed some minutes later in the common kitchen.

“Morning D–” Clint choked on his drink as he caught sight of her. By his side, Steve, who was preparing a smoothie, looked up and coughed around the bit of apple he was eating.

Darcy beamed, strangely pleased she was able to trouble two super-heroes. Hands on the top of her jeans, she shrugged. “Oh, don’t mind me. Dad stole all my Avengers T-shirts.”

“So, you… decided to forgo the shirt?”

“Yeah. How much time do you think it’ll take him to come down?”

“Too much for my peace of mind,” Clint mumbled, staring at his cup of coffee obstinately.

“Oh come on, you’re grown men and you already saw me in a swimsuit Steve”

“Yeah,” Steve replied, voice a little shaky, as he focused on his mixer. “Mh… Nice bra.”

“Thank you, I like it too. I guess dad didn’t have the guts to go through my underwear or he’d have taken it too.” She adjusted the straps of her Captain America’s shield bra and stroked the white stars proudly.

“Please, don’t do that in my peripheral vision,” Clint whined.

“Sucks to be you, Barton. Stop hogging the sugar.” She barely had the time to make her tea before a flow of angry Italian came from the elevator.

“How old are you, four?” Tony barked when he barged in.

“Well, no, if I was, being in my underwear wouldn’t be a problem.”

Tony grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away, grumbling in Spanish.

“Just admit you lose, vieux shnock,” Darcy replied as she sipped her tea to minimize the spilling.

He released her in the elevator but it’s not like his grip had been really strong. She had followed him willingly; her point was only to get a rise out of him. Arms crossed, he glared at her from the opposite side. She sipped her tea calmly, not ready to break first.

“I’m sorry,” Tony finally sighed, shoulders slumping.

She raised an eyebrow at him.

“I know, I shouldn’t have snuck into your room after you specifically told Jarvis no…”

She nodded and tilted her head.

“...and I shouldn’t have touched your stuff... but I didn’t throw themaway, I just hid them! … I’m really sorry… Forgive me and put on a shirt?” He took off his jacket and held it out to her with a hopeful expression.

She exchanged her mug for the jacket and put it on as they walked into his workshop. “You’re forgiven but don’t _ever_ do it again,” she demanded seriously. She trusted him utterly and she could forgive him a lot but he shouldn’t push it. “Now, are we going to talk about it like adults or will we have another T-shirt battle that you’ll lose? Seriously, what did Bucky do that put you in such a state?”

“It’s not what he did,” Tony grumbled as he put down the mug. “It’s what it reminded me of. Just… I’m not ready to talk about it yet.”

“Ok then…” She stopped in front of her armored suit and patiently waited as it opened for her.

“We agreed you wouldn’t go alone!” Tony protested. They had indeed agreed it would be more reasonable that she didn’t used it alone until she mastered it and she didn’t had much opportunity to do so since her birthday.

“We did. I guess you should suit up then.”

She laughed as the suit closed around her and she heard him curse in Italian. “Brushing up on our languages is fun, isn’t it, papa?”

 

They flew off fast, played rough and crashed…hard into the ocean (huh, it really is like smacking into concrete if you’re going fast enough). It was good to know that Iron Shock was perfectly waterproof as well as incredibly solid. She found out that her HUD could identify some species of fishes and took the time to do some diving… or would have if her dad hadn’t dragged her away to kick her metallic ass (but not really, he just liked to send her in spirals to make sure she could control the suit). After an hour, she used the evasive mode of the autopilot (aka Jarvis) while she tried to get her breath back.

“Holy shit, dad, how do you do this for hours? It’s harder than it looks!”

“Do you need to get in shape, dumpling? More boxing?”

“I’ll come in a Captain America’s sports bra if you dare.”

“Slow down on the threats, honey. Do you want to give a heart attack to your old man?”

“Nope, I want my dad in top form and happy.”

He sighed. “… Let’s go back inside. I’ll explain.”

They touched down after a silent flight above the ocean. When their faceplates slid up, Tony looked less troubled, more settled. They stepped out oftheir suits and took the stairs up to the penthouse where they lounged on the sofa with hot chocolate.

Then and only then, Tony started to talk : “We found paper files in an old Hydra base in Europe. Rogers found one on the Winter Soldier. The last document was a transfer order dated from 1991 for an assassination mission in the US. His target… was Howard Stark.”

“Holy shit,” Darcy breathed, air escaping her lungs with the force of the news as pieces of the puzzle fit together in her mind. Gaping, she stared at her dad before slowly wiggling towards him. Since he leaned her way, she took it for a tacit wish for touch and crawled until they were snuggled tightly against each other.

“I always guessed it was no accident. For the past few months I was almost sure it was Hydra and then there it was, confirmed.Really, the only thing new is that they had such a sick sense of humor to send one of his friends to kill him.”

Darcy sipped her drink and observed him carefully. “You’re not angry with Bucky.”

He shrugged. “He was a mindless killer, as good as a robot at the time.”

“A weapon pointed at a target by his handlers,” Darcy summarized, feeling gloomy. Imagining this and how Bucky felt when he learned he had killed one of his old friends was depressing. “I don’t get it, if you’re not angry with Bucky, what is this fuss with Steve all about?”

Tony groaned. “I may have said a few things… He went on his high horses to defend his bestie, Clint backed him up and this went sideways. Now I’m the unreasonable guy throwing a tantrum in the corner, again. Nothing new.”

“Sweet lady Frigga, communication in your team is atrocious,” she sighed.

“One step forward, two steps back, it’s a dance where the purpose is to stomp on the other’s feet,” Tony grumbled.

They took a sip of hot chocolate in perfect synchronization. Darcy insisted: “If it’s not Bucky, what got you in such a tizzy?”

“Processing. Memories. Doubts. Worries. Sulking… Sulking is important.”

There wasn’t going to be any straight answer from him. She tried to understand his thought process and what bothered him so much about this news that he felt the need to push her away. She was pretty good at reading people when they failed to communicate. Jane was often like that too. And… Stane… Stane had to be decrypted.

Since Tony had his doubts about the assassination, that wasn’t what bothered him, not for so long. Bucky’s role was a new factor and he obviously had taken it badly enough that the meeting had been a mess but he had processed it. This had nothing to do with her, unless…

“You’re afraid,” she realized.

He clenched his jaw but replied: “My father got killed by one of his colleagues, someone he called a friend and a great man. In the same way, a man that I thought I could trust tried to get me killed and abused my daughter. History repeats itself and yes, I’m afraid of that, of what it means for you, for Pepper and for me, for all of us linked to the Stark name, what a cursed name it seems to be. Maybe you were right, the other day, about staying away from this. Maybe you should go raise sheep in California. I could change our names, get plastic surgery, convince Pepper to dye her hair and we could live a quiet anonymous life.”

“You wouldn’t like it. You would be bored in two weeks top.”

He tilted his head. “Well… yeah… No, come on, give me a few things to improve and I could last… two months at least.”

She laughed softly. “I don’t think being a Stark is cursed. None of us had a perfect life, that’s true, and so what? I’m happy, right here, right now. Are you?”

He glanced at her and nodded slowly. “Yeah.”

“I say this is what matters: the present. You can’t change the past. You can’t predict and plan for every possibility in the future.” She raised an eyebrow when he tried to protest. “You can’t. There will always be something you hadn’t planned, like an alien falling in front of your car during a storm…” She mimed the process with a lot of sounds effects.

He rolled his eyes. “I get it.”

“My Iron Shock armor is awesome, dad. My friends are awesome. My family is awesome. It’s true, some days the future seems so terrifying that I want to take that plane to California, but I see your face in the present and I think ‘nah’.”

“Nah?”

“Nah. It’s nice here. I want to stay here.” She snuggled closer to assert her point.

He put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her. “You think I’m blowing this out of proportion, right? Like…” He stopped but Darcy could fill the rest: like Steve.

“No, I don’t. We all have a lot on our plate; we all react differently to things. That’s fine. You don’t want to speak to a counselor so you have to handle this your way…”

“I’m talking to Bruce.”

She chuckled softly. “He’s not _that_ kind of doctor!” That sentence had been repeated so often, by Bruce, Pepper and herself that it had become a private joke between all of them. It never failed to make Tony smile.

“All right then, I’m talking to _you_.”

“I’m not one either, too busy seeing one you know.”

“Whatever. Shrinks are the ones who need shrinks the most anyway. Are… are your appointments going well? Your therapist is good? You can change if you don’t like her, you know, we can afford the best.”

“I like my therapist, she’s great.”

“Yeah? Good, good, you deserve the best. I thought you seemed great lately.”

“You mean, before I started to argue with my dad in four different languages?”  

“Yeah… Well, you looked great too then. You’ve a good mean French.”

“Je t’aime papa.” She repeated with her head on his shoulder.

“Yeah… I love you too, kiddo.”

 

 **Sunday 16** **th** **November 2014**

Steve answered the door to the quarters he was sharing with Bucky. He looked surprised to find Darcy waiting but smiled nonetheless.

“Hi. I was hoping to talk to Bucky,” she explained.

“Sure, come in.” He stepped out of the way and closed the door behind her. “So… hm… did you resolve your fight with Tony?”

She chuckled. “Yeah, don’t worry Cap, I won’t walk around with justyour shield printed on my bra for a while.”

Blushing, Steve cleared his throat before calling: “Bucky, Darcy’s here to see you!”

Bucky, Sam, Natasha and Clint were all seated around the TV showing a baseball game. As they turned ~~~~to see her, Darcy waved. Bucky stared at her, unmoving and stone-faced. Clint, stupid mind reader that he is, guessed: “Tony told you.”

“Yeah. In fact, I’m here partly in his name…” She could feel the tension increasing as Sam muted the TV. She wished they could have talked in private but Bucky didn’t seem willing to move. She shrugged and relayed her message: “Apparently, his freak-out has been misunderstood. Tony isn’t angry with _you_ and he doesn’t hold you responsible for Howard’s death. As far as Starks are concerned, you’re in the clear.”

Steve had leaned against the wall. He relaxed visibly. On the contrary, Bucky suddenly stood up, jaw and fists clenched. “I killed Howard.”

Darcy took a few seconds to understand his blunt declaration. Everyone else seemed tense, ready to intervene. This was clearly not the first time the subject had been discussed and she could imagine Steve immediately answering by the negative. Since it hadn't worked, she chose not to. “You did.” She nodded. “You were the weapon used to do that. And you’re forgiven.”

Reading him was pretty hard. His eyes were shifting, the only indication he was struggling. He walked around the couch, slowly, and stepped forward until he was so firmly in her space that she had to take a step back. In her peripheral vision, Darcy could see everyone standing up and Steve stepping forward, calling his friend warily.

“It’s… stupid,” Bucky said, his eyebrows dipping. He was doing his intense staring, again.

“Maybe.” She shrugged, playing it cool, staying as calm as possible. “Now, that was Tony’s message. _I_ was coming here to give you a hug. Want one?”

He gaped a little. “You’re crazy.”

“Obviously, since I’m hanging out with you guys. Yes or no, Nutcracker?”

“Yes.” He replied immediately, voice breaking.

She went on tiptoes to put her arms around his neck and hugged him softly. He tightened their embrace and hid his face in her hair, mumbling a soft “I’m so sorry” that she barely heard. She patted his back, tears coming to her eyes as she heard the pain in his voice. “I know, I know Bucky, but we forgave you so please, please, forgive yourself.”

 

**Ten days later**

“I don’t remember it. I don’t think I ever saw him.”

Tony hummed. “It’s likely. A tire burst. The car went down the ravine. A sniper shot would have done the trick. That’s your specialty, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

Darcy quietly watched Bucky and Tony talk as the engineer studied the metal arm’s mechanism. Tony never looked up as he discussed the death of his father but his voice was calm. He had made his peace with the matter.

Behind Bucky, Steve was watching intently, solemn and quiet. On Tony’s right, Darcy was handing him tools before he could ask for them, observing what he did and keeping up with his work.

Tony grumbled about shoddysoviet work and adjusted the magnifying glass in front of his right eye. “Alright, let’s try this. Dumpling?”

“Don’t look Bucky. It’s cheating if you know what you’re supposed to feel,” Darcy said before she opened the thermos she had brought and took a ice cube that she put in Bucky’s metal hand. “Do you feel something?”

He frowned. “Cold.”

“Good.” Darcy took it back and replaced the ice cube with a stone she had heated on a Bunsen burner. As he answered correctly, she beamed. “Looks like the thermoreceptors are working!” She high-fived her dad. Bucky offered his flesh hand and they did the same. “So, we thought we should let you get used to it before adding anything else.”

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “What else could you add?”

“Your tactile sensorsaren’t bad but we could upgrade them. You said you can feel pressure and vibration but we could give you back a certain sense of touch, so you know if something is soft or rough, basic things like that.”

“Okay… Why are these things beige? It shows.” Bucky wiggled his fingers, looking pointedly at the tips of his fingers where the receptors were visible little skin-colored dots.

“That’s because they need to color match to this!” Darcy announced excitedly as she took what seemed to be a very long glove from a box. Steve stepped forward to study it curiously.

“Bruce helped with these,” Tony explained. “Touch it, go on.”

Steve did and his eyes widened. “It feels a bit like skin.”

“Yep, that’s the point. Feel and seem like skin as much as possible. If you want to be undercover, this beauty will allow you to walk in T-shirt and without bothering the ventilation system that I just upgraded. Ultimately, we hope to make you able to feel everything touching this tissue but that will take a lot of work.”

“It’ll probably be annoying to put on,” Darcy warned as she offered it to Bucky. “It’s exactly to your measurement.” Indeed, she had to help him and it was worse than putting on tights. After a few adjustments though, the result looked perfect. “How does it feel?”

Bucky moved his arm in every torsion possible without taking his gaze away from the skin-colored limb. “It feels… great actually.” When he finally managed to look at them, he said: “Thanks. I owe you.”

“No, you don’t, dad is only happy to have a new challenge,” Darcy said.

“Well, those things are kinda expensi–outch.” Tony rubbed his arm and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever, it’s fine.”

Darcy smiled sweetly. “Yes it is. Don’t worry about it Bucky. Friends don’t count IOUs.”

“I do,” Tony said.

“Please,” she drawled, “if you did, you’d be so in debt to Pepper and Rhodey that I would inherit it.”

Tony tilted his head. “Fair enough.” He turned to Bucky and very seriously announced: “No IOU.”

“Thanks anyway,” Steve said, looking at them in turn, “to both of you.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, it’s done. Now, go and have fun kids, I have work to do.”

Darcy snorted but obediently walked away. Bucky followed but Steve stayed. “Actually, I wanted to talk with you Tony.” He checked briefly and silently with his best friend before standing his ground despite Tony’s groan.

 

Darcy left the workshop with a backwards glance, curious to know what this was about.

“The punk wants to clear things about their last argument,” Bucky explained as they walked to the elevator. “I told him he shouldn’t defend me, I wasn’t the victim in this.”

“Weren’t you?” Under his intense stare, she shrugged. “Just a feeling. I’m sure you’re tired of talkingabout it though. Between Steve and Sam… and then it seems like Natasha and Clint took a liking to you.”

Bucky snorted. “Yeah. Clint shared his experience with brainwashing and Natasha has dealt with the soviets’ indoctrination, but… I’m tired of it, yeah. I hate talking. It’s… difficult…”

“… to express what you feel?”

“Yes.”

She nodded. “I understand. It’s fine. If you want to talk I will listen but we don’t have to. We can cook... or dance… or watch Agent Carver!” She offered.

“We finished Agent Carver.”

“I could rewatch her without ever being bored but fine, we can watch something else.  Have you ever seen any Disney movies?I don’t think a Disney could be triggering,” she mused. Although, on second thought… she immediately ruled out Beauty and the Beast as well as The Lion King.And Hercules would be a lot more fun if they watched it with Steve to give him grief about it.

Bucky agreed to a movie. They watched it in Darcy’s rooms because he wasn’t up for more company. As evening came, Darcy put together some dinner and they ate it in front of Tangled.

“I like that guy,” Bucky mumbled at the end.

“Flynn?” Darcy snorted. “That doesn’t surprise me. Do you want to see another?”

He shook his head. Through all the movie, his metal arm had been restless. He often looked at it and now he was frowning heavily.

“Are you alright? Is the arm bothering you?”

“No, it’s just… different… lighter and different.”

“You need to get used to it… dancing could help? Well, training is more likely to help but I’m not going to volunteer for _that_.”

He smirked. “You could benefit from it though.”  When she tried to push him away with a roll of her eyes, he caught her wrist and pulled her closer. His lips brushed her cheek as he said: “I would love a dance, my lady.”

“Oh, now you turn on the charm, huh? Come on.”

They move some furniture to have enough room and Darcy asked Jarvis to be their DJ. After a few songs, when Bucky’s left hand wouldn’t stop shifting against hers, Darcy had to restrain her chuckles.

“Bucky, this is distracting.”

“Sorry, it’s just… you’re warm and… I can’t wait to be able to feel your skin.”

She gave him a soft smile. “In a few weeks, promise. In the meantime, you’re welcome to use your other hand.”

He smirked. “Honey, lindy hop is mostly one hand and you don’t want me to be unable to take my hands off you. Come on, you have the tempo down, let’s do this again.”

The slow tempo they used to swing was nearly relaxing once Darcy was sure she wasn’t going to stomp on his feet. “I watched some videos on youtube, some are really fast, can you do that?”

“I could…” He answered slowly.

“Sorry… you don’t remember?”

He shrugged. “Not very well. My memory is full of holes.” She nodded and enjoyed the dance. A few minutes later, he added: “It’s fun when I remember something and tell it to Steve. He looks like an ecstatic puppy. I keep those to cheer him up.”

“Aww, that’s sweet. Does he know how to dance? Should we invite him?”

Bucky snorted. “The punk has two left feet.” A little out of breath, Darcy stopped and made a move towards her glass of water. Bucky’s flesh hand brushed her hip. “And I don’t really want to share you.”

“Right now, you’re the one looking like a puppy, Barnes,” she teased. He really did, except he was more the kicked puppy kind and that was sad. She went for a hug, telegraphing her intentions and only touching him when she was sure it was welcome. Brushing his hair patiently, she hummed as he hid against her neck in a gesture becoming familiar. When she burrowed her fingers in the nape of his neck, he groaned low, tightened his embrace and his lips brushed her neck. A shiver on her part encouraged him to do it again.

“I’m making a mess out of this,” he grumbled with a thick accent as he moved back. “I’m sorry, I used to be better with the ladies.” He caught her hand and kissed her wrist. “I’d really like to kiss you, if you allow me.”

She smiled and pulled on his shirt in a silent invitation to proceed. His kiss was soft and light, like a bee on a flower, testing the sweetness offered. He only deepened the kiss when Darcy pressed forward, encouraging him by parting her lips as he drew her in the circle of his arms.

It stayed soft and unhurried, as if Bucky was engraving each detail in memory. When they stopped, only moving their lips against some other skin to catch their breath, he explained: “Sometimes, it seems like most of the things I remember are about… hurting or killing someone.  I don’t want to wait for the good stuff to come back…”

“You want to make new memories?” Darcy guessed. He nodded slowly. She smiled. “I volunteer to help. Want to make-out on my bed?”

His grin was as mischievous and untroubled as she imagined it had been in the 30’s. He caught the back of her thighs and easily lifted her in his arms. She couldn’t help but laugh at his enthusiasm.

It started just as offered: simple snuggles, strokes and kisses as they lay side by side. He kept his artificial limb away from her skin, even though he was still wearing the glove, but his right hand was all over her skin. It didn’t take long before he silently asked to remove her T-shirt by pulling on it. Once both shirtless, their caresses became bolder. The mood shifted unexpectedly when Bucky found a ticklish spot under her ribs and paid particular attention to it when it sparked a small giggle.

“Bucky,” she whined, pushing his hands playfully.

He hummed, licked under her bellybutton and sent her a self-satisfied smirk when she wiggled under him.

Of course, payback was in order. She found a ticklish spot under his clavicle and war was declared.Peals of laughter sounded out. In no time, her bed became a battlefield, pillows thrown on the side, the sheets tangled between them. Their pants became an inconvenience as it hindered their acrobatics and the search for more sensitive spots and they immediately came off with no verbal consultation required.

Darcy unbalanced as she threw her jeans away and started to topple over the side of the bed, pulled by the blankets sliding to the floor. Bucky lunged to catch her but only managed to roll under her and take the brunt of the fall. As Darcy rolled with the momentum, they found themselves in a tight burrito, stuck to each other from neck to toes. Darcy’s giggles wouldn’t stop for a long time at Bucky’s surprised face. “This is nice, I like this position,” she said cheerfully, burrowing her hands behind Bucky’s back and her face against his neck.  

He hummed and considered their situation before tilting his head. “It’s warm but…” She could feel his fingers wiggle against her back.

“You don’t like having your hands trapped?” She tried to move to allow him more space. Her hips bumped against his. “Well, some part of you like it, at least,” she noted with a smirk.

He freed his hands in short order, reversed their position with him on top and kissed her deeply as he grounded their hips together. “Now, this is better,” he whispered, “open your legs a little more for me, sweetheart… There, perfect. Should we stay here?”

She chuckled a little. “I’m definitely getting on the warmer part of the spectrum but unless you’re trying to kill my back, I need more support. Grab the spare blankets in my closet, maybe?”

Getting the blankets without moving too much led to them being buried under them. Organizing some form of cocoon led to so much more laughter that Darcy ended up with a stitch. Breathless, she finally settled in the middle of the pillows Bucky had managed to catch and grinned widely. “I don’t remember having ever laughed so much during sex.”

“Good, I’m doing it right then,” Bucky concluded proudly before nuzzling between her breasts. His right thumb was rubbing the small of her back, getting a little sigh out of her. “You feel so good,” he whispered, kissing her skin softly. “Can I… please?” He asked as his metal hand clenched around her bra strap. A small nod and her bra quickly disappeared in the layers of their den, replaced by Bucky’s mouth and flesh hand.

She moaned under his ministrations and buried her hand in his hair. “Oh… Bucky, please…”

“What do you need?” He immediately asked, nuzzling her nipples with tenderness.

Darcy shifted her hips, rubbing against his clothed erection and getting a small groan in answer. “I’m so wet, it’s just _so_ annoying and distracting, _please_ take it off.” She was whining a little but oh how she wanted to be naked.

Unfortunately, their burrito was still pretty much in effect and even Bucky and his free hands encountered a problem. He nibbled on her collarbone and grumbled. “Do you care much about those panties?”

“At this point? They can go to hell.”

A rip announced her freedom as she finally could feel her skin against the sheets and his boxer. Another rip and... “Oh, much much better,” she sighed happily as their arousal rubbed against each other, getting her to moan louder. “Bucky, want you.” She pawed the small of his back, trying to get him closer, as impossible as it was.

“You got me, sweetheart…” His flesh hand parted her folds and pressed expertly, making her jerk and cling to him. “Though, we might need…”

She had to blink and focus through the haze of his ministrations to get what he meant. She immediately reached for her bedside table, though she had to have a second go at it as he dipped one finger inside her and got her to arch as she chased his touch. “Feels good,” she mumbled as she finally got one of those stupid condoms. She pressed it against his very well built torso andlooked him straight in the eye. “Stop teasing, gimme the goods, dude.”

A punishing flick of his tongue against her nipple got her to shut up. The rest of this rodeo was a long, slow ride that she spent clinging to him, propped with two pillows and feeling perfectly secure in their makeshift cocoon.

With the way he bonelessly rested against her afterwards, she guessed he felt pretty much the same.

“Good?” He asked.

“Perfect,” she whispered, stroking his hair and admiring the pleased uplift of his lips.

Their tangled limbs were a bit sticky but Darcy wouldn’t have moved for the world, on the contrary she snuggled closer.  

A few minutes later, he sighed. “I should go.”

She frowned. “Why? Stay.”

“I can’t. I have nightmares. I can be violent sometimes.”

“Oh.” Well, damn. Spooning and cuddling afterwards was half of the fun.

James frowned and his expression became closed-off at her blatant disappointment. He withdrew. Darcy quickly stopped him. “No, it’s okay, I understand, it’s fine.” Really, she should have thought of this. “Just… maybe you can stay a little longer?” She asked hopefully.

He hesitated before nodding and relaxing slightly. Slowly, Darcy coaxed him in a spooning position, with her back to his chest, his right arm on her waist. “We could do it again later, if you want?” She offered clumsily, stroking the back of his hand slowly.

He kissed her shoulder. “I would love that.”

Feeling relieved, she relaxed and dozed off.

Sometime later, she vaguely felt him move and whined as she lost his warmth, but he tucked her in, stroked her forehead and kissed her nose.

“Shh, it’s alright, go back to sleep sweetheart.”

She nuzzled his hand and did just that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Vieux shnock = old geezer   
> \- _Marin d'eau douce_ can be translated to landlubber I believe.
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos and support everyone, I love you! Let me know what you think of this!  
>  _Belladonnaprice_ finished to proofread this just in time to make it a birthday present for you (I'm just a tiny bit late, my 27th birthday just ended in my time zone).  
>  I can't tell you when I'll be able to give you the next chapter, I have some difficulties to write at the moment. =/

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr: lunaemoth.tumblr.com


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